A New Dawn
by Connor-Olen
Summary: After escaping from prison, Dawn Bellwether travels to BunnyBurrow, aching for revenge on the cops who wronged her. She stubbornly believes that all predators are monsters. But those beliefs are tested when she has a chance encounter with the town baker, a fox, who believes that everyone deserves a second chance. Updates bi-weekly, on Saturdays.
1. The Prison

Chapter One: The Prison

Author's Note: I'd like to start out with a good old-fashioned CONTENT WARNING.

This story is rated 'T', but there is one chapter in particular that I feel is worthy of an 'M' rating for sensitive material. I'll give you a heads up when we get to that chapter. For now, just be aware that if you're easily triggered, this story might not be for you.

Anyway, hey guys, this is ConMan1226. Now, I recently had to change my account because I changed my email address. If you're interested, my old account can be found here. (u/5622219/ConMan1226)

Some of you may already know me from a little WildeHopps story called 'Z-Harmony'. That story has unfortunately been on hiatus for a very long time. I truly apologize. I got out as much out as I could but then I just kept on procrastinating and eventually lost interest entirely. There's a small possibility that I may write the ending one day. But for now, it is extremely unlikely.

I actually came up with the idea for this fanfic long before Z-Harmony. It took a long time to flesh the plot out, but once I had the entire story formed in my head, I found it difficult to think about anything else.

My original plan was to wait until I had the entire story written. I wrote the first half of the story during NaNoWriMo, and I was making good progress until I accidentally erased a good chunk of my writing. Now, I'm in a difficult position where I want to share my story with the world, but I don't want it to end up like my last story attempt. So, I decided on weekly updates.

Just to be clear, this story does not take place in the same canon as Z-Harmony. For that story to work, I had to make it so that the Night Howler case never happened, and I pretty much had to ignore Dawn Bellwether.

Now there have been a lot of stories about Bellwether in the past, and she's a very interesting character to look at. In the movie, she's putting on an act for most of her screen time, so there a lot of different ways you can interpret her. So it was a very exciting challenge to write for her. Now, don't worry, Judy and Nick will play a role in this story, but they're more in the background. Dawn takes center stage in this story.

Finally, standard disclaimer. I do not own Zootopia, yadda yadda yadda.

Anyway, that's all for me. So sit back and relax, as we dive into… A New Dawn.

...

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Dawn rolled over in the other direction. Maybe that would make it easier to sleep.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Nope. There was no difference.

Her "bed" was basically a slab of concrete with the firmest mattress in the world. There was something coldly ironic about giving her the hardest bed in the entire prison, almost as if the warden believed that since she was covered in wool, she would be comfortable automatically.

Or maybe they just wanted to torture her.

It wasn't always easy to tell what was going on in the minds of the prison guards. Obviously, the predators wanted to torture her, but if the guard was a prey mammal, then it was a little trickier to figure out, There were moments where Dawn swore she caught a glimpse of empathy in their eyes. Surely they were only torturing her because they had to. It was their job, after all.

In Dawn's eyes, it was entirely possible that every prey mammal working in this prison knew the truth.

She didn't deserve to be there.

Often, she thought back to the day when her father came to visit. She had only been at the prison less than a week when he came. She had half been expecting him to scold her, or even to call her a monster like everyone else had done.

Instead, he had smiled at her.

…

"You did it, Dawn," he said.

"I almost did it," Dawn corrected.

He quickly brushed it off. "I know it seems like you've lost, but just think about it. You had power. Real power. And for one glorious moment, you had convinced the rest of the world to see preds as they truly are. Monsters."

Dawn felt a shiver running up her spine.

"Dawn," her father continued. "You reminded so many prey mammals why they hated preds in the first place. Nothing will ever be the same now. There will come a day when the world will realize they were wrong to lock you up. Years later, they will mention your name in history books. Kits will learn about the little ewe who fought back against the preds."

He placed his hoof up against the glass window. She did the same. It was the closest they could get to holding hands.

"My sweet little lamb," he said. "You are a hero. Never forget that."

…

The second time she saw her father, things had changed. Apparently, his credibility as a judge had been tarnished by his connection to his daughter, and he was now receiving a lot of hate. He explained that, for his own sake, he had to go into hiding for a little while.

"Just don't lose hope," he said. "Things will get better, I promise."

…

That was the last time she saw her father.

He had gone into hiding, and nobody knew where he was. There were even rumors going around that he was dead.

Truth be told, Dawn hadn't gotten any visitors since then. She hadn't had many friends before getting locked up, and the ones she had didn't want to associate themselves with a criminal.

The only real friend she had left was Doug, her former associate. From what Dawn could recall, Doug had gotten a short prison sentence that had since ended. After getting out, he had tried to visit her but the guards strictly forbade it, worried about the possibility of the two exchanging information.

And in all fairness, they were probably right.

She still had some access to the outside world via newspapers and broadcast TV. She still remembered the Gazelle concert they had shown her shortly after her arrest. There didn't seem to be much of a point, only to make her see everything she was missing out on.

'Try Everything?' she remembered thinking to herself. 'Guess what, I did. Look where it got me.'

As time went on, she tried to hold on to her father's last words to her. 'Things will get better, they have to.' She said to herself. 'They'll realize that predators are monsters and they'll let me go with an apology.'

But in the two years that she had been locked up, things only seemed to be getting worse. In fact, it was like predators and prey were getting along better than ever. There were more and more stories how worldwide companies were becoming more diverse. More predators were being trusted with high-profile jobs.

And worst of all, prey and predators were forming interspecies relationships.

This wasn't completely unheard of before, but now, it seemed to be everywhere. No matter where she looked in the news, she would see a romance made up of two completely different species, some of them with extreme size differences. How was that even possible?

And then the day came when Dawn received the worst possible news she could imagine.

Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde were dating.

The two mammals who ruined her master plan, the mammals who put her in this hellish situation to begin with… Dawn simply couldn't believe it.

She knew very little about the fox, just that he was a former con artist who somehow made his way onto the police force, most likely through some sort of trickery. Also he was partially responsible for ruining her life. Also, he was a predator.

All three of those were perfectly valid reasons to hate him.

But what really upset her was Judy. When she had first met that bunny, she had seemed like a good and honest friend. She had reminded Dawn so much of herself. Both of them were raised in the country, outside of Zootopia, and both of them had worked very hard to be taken seriously.

Dawn had a very distinct memory of seeing Judy's nose twitch when that fox had asked her, 'Are you afraid of me'. Deep down, Judy didn't trust predators.

Or at least, she hadn't back then. But clearly, something had changed.

Dawn had accepted long ago that the world was a very cruel and unforgiving place. But it still hurt that she was locked up in prison for merely standing up against the predators, while those two _lovers_ (Dawn had to suppress the urge to gag) got to live happily ever after.

It just wasn't right.

But there was no point in thinking about it now. For the moment, the only thing she could do was to try and get some sleep.

Dawn found herself wondering if this 'bed' had actually been designed in some sort of madhouse. After two years of attempting to sleep on it, it hadn't gotten any easier. She kept trying to find a comfortable position to be in, but each position was somehow less comfortable than the last. It was an incredibly paradoxical piece of furniture.

If there was one good thing about the sleeping conditions that night, it was that it happened to be raining outside. The rain was making the pipes leak, but at least the distant ambient noise of the storm gave her something soothing to listen to. Eventually, by some miracle, she managed to doze off.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

…

CRASH.

Dawn woke with a start. Something had made an incredibly loud noise. She looked around and then froze.

Slowly, she got up. She didn't blink. She didn't look away. She gently reached down and gave her arm a tight pinch. Ow. Okay, she was definitely awake.

Her cell wall was gone.

As she looked around, she realized it wasn't just her wall. An entire chunk of the prison exterior wall had been blown up, with some sort of dynamite. And in the distance, she could see that the prison gates had also been blown apart.

Dawn began to hear loud noises. The voices of prisoners and guards became muddled together so it sounded like a giant stew of noise. And she slowly realized that there were prisoners running out of their cells to the outside. Mammals of every size were running for their lives, and there weren't nearly enough guards on the scene to control them.

Upon seeing this, it took Dawn about half a second to realize what was happening.

And then another half a second before she started running.

She didn't even look back. There was nothing to look back at. She hadn't even realized she could run this fast, as she couldn't recall ever being in a situation like this. And she kept running, even though her body told her to stop. Even though she was tired and hungry and w-

No. She was not weak. She hated that word.

She kept running. And at last, she ducked into a sewage pipe that was just the right size for her. She didn't mind being a little dirty if it meant she could finally be free.

For once in her life, she was immensely grateful that she was so small. All of the guards were busy chasing after the larger mammals, and hardly any of them even noticed her.

She took a deep breath and began swimming. She had never been a terribly strong swimmer either, but any limitations she may have had before didn't mean anything to her anymore. She was going to escape.

 _Escape. Escape. Escape._ She kept repeating the word in her head. It was almost within her grasp, she just had to keep holding out a little longer…

At long last, she reached the end of the tunnel. She gasped for air and then pulled herself out of the sewage. She was choking a bit. It didn't matter. She was free…

"Bellwether!"

For a moment, she stood still. Then a slow smile crept up onto her face. She recognized that voice.

"Doug!"

She looked up, and there he was. Her old friend and partner in crime was standing outside a parked car, wearing dark clothing.

He snorted. "You're welcome, boss."

Dawn looked back at the prison, where the chaos was still visible, and she put two and two together.

"…You did this?"

Doug looked at her with a sense of urgency in his eyes. "Look, I'd love to catch up on things, but we've got to go. The fuzz will be coming after us any minute."

She didn't need to be told twice. She hopped into the car and Doug sped off. They were going extremely fast, but Dawn didn't mind in the slightest. Just feeling the cold air in her wool was a completely exhilarating feeling. She was _out_.

After a moment or two, she looked back at Doug.

"I don't suppose you could have let me know about this plan in advance?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"It was too risky," Doug responded. "Don't worry, from now on, you're involved in all plans."

Dawn found herself smiling wide for the first time in years. "From now on, I _make_ the plans."

"All right, Boss," said Doug. "So... _do_ you have a plan?"

Truth be told, Dawn didn't have a plan fully formulated yet. Just twenty minutes ago, she was still in prison. But she would have a plan soon enough. As a matter of fact, she was already beginning to put one together.

And this time, nobody was going to get in her way.


	2. A Common Enemy

Chapter Two: A Common Enemy

Author's Note: So far, so good. At least I haven't gotten any hate comments yet.

The plan is for this story to have about twenty-five chapters. I have the plot mapped out and everything, I just hope it all comes out good in the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

…

If there was one thing Doug prided himself in, it was his knowledge of Zootopia. He had lived there all of his life, and he liked to think he knew the inner workings of the city better than any mammal he had ever met. It was this very asset that had made him so useful to Dawn when she initially hired him. Well, that and his incredible precision as a sniper.

This is how Doug was able to find all the right back alleyways and side streets to drive through to reach their destination. Even though no one was pursuing them at the moment, both sheep knew it was only a matter of time before the prison guards figured out that she had escaped. They couldn't afford to leave behind any clues that would tip off the police.

"So…" Dawn began, "Where exactly are we going?"

"Abandoned gas station in Sahara Square," Doug responded. "There we'll meet up with Jesse."

Dawn paused before asking, "What about Woolter?"

Doug let out a slow sigh. "The cops found him and arrested him."

"Really," said Dawn, slightly confused. "You'd think I would have run into him."

Doug shook his head. "They put him in some other prison. My guess is they didn't want the two of you communicating, even if it was behind bars."

After a moment or two of silence, Dawn spoke again. "He'd probably be really pissed if he found out you went to all this effort to get me out instead of him."

"Nah," said Doug, shrugging his shoulders. "I think he'd understand. After all, you were always the brains behind this operation."

Dawn didn't respond. Instead, she glanced out the window, admiring the city of Zootopia and all it had to offer. She still couldn't fully grasp the concept that she was out. The nightmare was finally _over_. True, she didn't have a position of power anymore, but she was sure her lack of authority in Zootopia was only temporary.

One nasty little side effect of being cooped up in a prison cell for a very long time was that she found it difficult to judge the passage of time. And the fact that said prison was in TundraTown meant that it was always cold, no matter what time of year it was. So, it was a bit of a surprise for Dawn when she looked out the window and saw Savannah Central entirely covered in snow – real snow, not the processed kind. It was winter, all right.

But Dawn's eyes became wider when she realized it wasn't _just_ winter. Because everywhere she looked there were bright, multicolored lights running up and down the buildings, trees, and everything in between.

"It's funny," Dawn said softly. "I didn't even realize it was Christmas."

"Yeah," said Doug. "Just a couple of days ago, in fact."

"Dawn smiled, then she turned back to Doug. "So…" she said, using a tone that sounded vaguely flirtatious, "I suppose that you breaking me out of prison can be considered my belated Christmas present."

"Uh, sure. If you want to consider it that way, fine."

Dawn sighed and turned away. While it was true that Doug was her only real friend, she sometimes wished he didn't have to be so... boring. Heck, if he was a little more fun, she could almost see herself dating him…

After a moment, she shook that idea out of her head. She had much more important things to worry about.

…

After sitting in relative silence for the remainder of the drive, the two sheep finally arrived at their destination; an old, abandoned gas station. The neon sign was broken and the lights were out. It looked like the kind of place that might have been more popular thirty years ago.

Doug parked the car, picked up a few items that had been lying in the back seat, and made his way out of the car. Dawn, who didn't have any items to speak of, followed suit. She caught glimpses of one or two mammals in the distance, and she suddenly felt very nervous about the prospect of being seen.

Luckily for her, it was the middle of the night, but there was still the slight problem that her wool was very white, which made her stand out a bit.

And the fact that she was still wearing an orange jumpsuit didn't exactly help.

"Boss!"

Dawn jumped, caught off guard. Doug was already halfway in the door, and he was staring at her with a very confused look on his face.

Dawn snapped out of her train of thought. "Keep your voice down!" she said, slightly irritated. "Haven't you ever heard of being inconspicuous?"

"Uh… haven't you ever heard of hurrying the hell up?" He shot back at her, making a gesturing motion with his front hoof. Dawn took the hint and ran inside, with Doug quickly shutting the door behind them.

"What in the world made you pause like that?" Doug asked.

Dawn felt a little bit taken aback. "I just felt nervous, that's all."

"Yeah, well… if anybody sees you, we're both dead!"

"Do you think I don't realize that?"

Just then, a third voice wedged its way into the conversation. "Hey… if the two of you would stop bickering like an old married couple, that would be just perfect."

Dawn turned her head to see another sheep, lying down on the couch and possibly a little drunk.

Jesse was a little younger than the other two, but he shared their hatred of predators, and he knew quite a bit about chemistry, which is what initially made him such a vital resource in the Night Howler plan.

"Wow, Jesse," remarked Dawn. "You haven't changed at all."

Jesse looked up, trying to get a better look at Dawn. "Well, as I live and breathe. Dawn Bellwether, is that really you?"

"I certainly hope so," Dawn said with a smile.

"You know, I have to be honest…" Jesse said, "When this guy, right over here, said he was gonna blow up part of the prison and get our old boss back, I thought he was crazy."

"Well, I did it," said Doug. "Which means you owe me fifty bucks."

"Look, I didn't think that was a serious bet," Jesse said, defensively. "I thought that was just one of your jokes, you know..."

Doug's smile slowly faded away. "Well, that's not the way I see it, so where's my money?"

"Look, we're… we're both tight on cash, all right!" said Jesse, "So, what's it to you?"

"Guys!" Dawn exclaimed rather loudly, which immediately silenced both of the larger sheep. "I hate to interrupt your little dispute. But right now, I'd say we have more important things to worry about."

"…Like what?" asked Jesse.

Both Dawn and Doug gave him rather dumbfounded looks, before Doug spoke up. "I don't know, maybe like figuring out how to keep her whereabouts a secret."

He gestured towards Dawn, who was beginning to feel a little confused. "Well, wait a minute…" she said. "Forgive me if I don't quite understand… but do we even _have_ to keep it a secret? I mean, I know that the whole Night Howler plan was… controversial, but I'm sure that most of the prey in this city should be on my side."

Both Doug and Jesse looked at each other as an awkward silence played out. Jesse looked too tipsy to even comprehend what was going on, but Doug had a weird, almost melancholy look in his eyes. After what seemed like forever, he turned back to face Dawn.

"They're not," he said. "They're really not. In fact, if I were to guess I'd say that you are probably the single most hated living mammal in the city. Hell, maybe even the world!"

Dawn chuckled a bit. "Oh come on, Doug. You're exaggerating."

But Doug simply shook his head. "I wish I was." He said, morosely. "And trust me, Jesse and I… we are completely on your side. But… well, I'm sure you've read the papers. Those effing preds are mingling with prey more than ever. Hell, even the bunny and fox who stopped us…"

"…They're dating." Dawn finished for him. "I know."

"But do you know why preds and prey are so close now?" Doug asked.

After a moment, Dawn shook her head.

"I heard it in the news the other day," Doug said. "When they were talking about how much things have changed over the past couple of years… and they mentioned your name, boss. They said…" he looked away from her for a moment, and then he took a deep breath. "They said… nothing brings mammals together like a common enemy."

Dawn was completely shocked. "…A common enemy?" Her shock gradually became anger, and it was rather alarming to see this kind of rage coming from a sheep her size. "What station was this?!"

"ZNN, why?"

"Those lying bastards!" She exclaimed. She began pacing around the room, almost as if she was looking for something to break. After a moment or two, she scowled and turned back to face Doug. "How did any prey mammal get it inside their head that I was against them?!" she shouted. "I'm a hero! I'm _their_ hero!"

"Of course you are, boss," Doug said. "Hey, we agree! It's absolutely ridiculous, the things they say about you! But look, all I'm trying to say is, you can't just waltz right back into the mayor's office and expect to run things again."

"So what are we supposed to do, then?" Dawn asked intently.

Doug looked around for a moment, the shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. I think we should lay low, and just wait for a while. It'll take time to come up with a new plan."

But Dawn immediately shook her head. "No," she said through gritted teeth. "I'm tired of waiting. I just got out of two years in prison, for God's sake! I don't want to wait any longer."

At that moment, Jesse decided to speak up again. "Well… maybe just the fact that you're out, will be enough? Once the news breaks that you're out of jail… those dirty preds, they'll be terrified."

Remarkably, Jesse's drunken ramblings made Dawn feel a little bit better. "Do you really think that predators are afraid of me?"

Doug smiled. "I _know_ that they're afraid of you," he said. "Boss, once the news of this breaks, all those preds are going to wet the beds every night just thinking of the big bad sheep that's gonna get them."

Dawn found herself smiling wide. That was exactly what she wanted to hear.

Just then, Jesse spoke up. "Hey, bro, when you said 'big bad sheep', did you mean 'sheep' as in plural, like all of us, or…"

"Just her, Jesse."

"Right, right."

Well, that ruined the moment.

Dawn found herself yawning. The other two sheep looked at her as realization settled in that it was very late at night and two of them had just gone through a very intense prison break. In short, they needed some sleep.

"Man," remarked Jesse. "You know, I am gonna have such a big hangover tomorrow morning."

"You'll live," said Doug, as he looked around and realized that there was a slight predicament. Back when he and Jesse had first attempted to make this place inhabitable, they had brought in a bunk bed set. Doug distinctly remembered asking Jesse to find another bed for their boss, but it looked like Jesse hadn't put too much stock into Doug's plan.

After a moment, Jesse also realized what the problem was. But evidently, it didn't seem like a big deal to him. "Boss, you can sleep on the couch."

Doug frowned. "Really, Jesse? This is one of the greatest heroes in the history of prey rights we're talking about here, she's not going to sleep on some moldy old couch!"

"Actually…" Dawn cut in. "The couch is fine."

Doug looked at her, slightly confused.

"I mean, it can't be any worse than that clunker they made me sleep on in prison," Dawn elaborated.

Slowly, Doug began to smile. "You know, not only are you a hero, you're so humble about it, too."

Dawn smiled back at him as she lied down on the couch. "Well, hopefully, it's only temporary."

"Oh, it will be," said Doug. "Don't worry."

Dawn took a spare blanket from the side of the couch. It wasn't exactly the most glamorous of sleeping conditions, but after two years in prison, she'd take it.

Doug turned the lights off and got into bed. Jesse followed suit. Dawn put her glasses on a nearby table and lied down on the couch. A few seconds passed.

"…Hey, Doug?"

Doug yawned. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Let me sleep in a little bit tomorrow morning."

"Are you sure?" Doug asked. "Tomorrow we'll have to go over plans and everything, so we should probably all get up fairly early…"

But Dawn shook her head.

"I haven't had a good night's sleep in two years, Doug. Let me have this."


	3. The Beginnings Of A Plan

Chapter Three: The Beginnings Of A Plan

So... this chapter was tough to write. There's a lot of exposition and setup to get through, and I tried my hardest to make it interesting. But just in case this chapter doesn't grab you... be aware that Nick and Judy will be making their appearances in the story sooner rather than later.

With that said, let's continue the story.

...

When someone has spent a lot of time in prison, their mind gets used to it. After all, there's only so many times you can wake up in the same tiny room before you realize just how small your life has become.

That's why it was an especially surreal feeling for Dawn when she opened her eyes.

She had almost managed to convince herself that the previous night's events had all been a dream, but when she got up and put her glasses on, she saw Doug. He was leaning in the corner, playing some sort of game on his phone. Meanwhile, Jesse was sitting on the bottom bunk, holding an ice pack to his head. A large smile appeared on Dawn's face. This was _real_. She was _out_.

But she was slowly brought back down to earth when she remembered that her current situation was less than ideal. By now, the guards at the prison must have figured out that she had escaped, and it was possible that the police were already searching for her.

Luckily, she didn't seem to be any immediate danger. At least, for now.

As she got out of bed, Doug seemed to take notice. "Ah, look who's finally up."

Dawn gave a somewhat awkward smile. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just… well, that was the best sleep I've had in a very long time."

Now it was Doug's turn to smile awkwardly. "Yeah, well… If I were you, I wouldn't get used to it."

Dawn looked concerned. "Do the police know?"

"I'm not sure," said Doug. "I looked online, but it didn't mention anything about the breakout." He shrugged his shoulders. "My guess is they don't want any of the civilians to panic."

The air of tension was suddenly broken by Jesse, who was moaning in pain. Doug slowly walked over to him. "Are you all right there, pal?" Asked Doug.

"No, of course, I'm not all right," Jesse said, whining. "Why do I always think I can play drinking games when watching corny movies? It never works out well for me."

Doug chuckled. "Ah come on, man. You just need to take your mind off things. Here, you want to play some chess or something?"

Jesse shook his head. "No way, I can barely think straight. I'll never remember what all the pieces do."

Dawn spoke up. "Uh, Doug… if you want to play chess, I'll be happy to play with you."

Doug looked down at her, looking a little bit embarrassed. "Well, you see… the thing is, I only started playing with Jesse because I wanted an opponent I actually stood a chance at beating, so…"

"Oh, I see…" Dawn said, once again giving an awkward smile that she seemed to be giving a lot lady. If a different type of mammal had been watching, they might have described her smile as 'sheepish.'

And that mammal would have promptly received a black eye.

"So…" said Dawn. "I don't suppose either of you started formulating a plan yet?"

Doug shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno," he said. "Honestly, we just thought we'd leave the planning to you."

Doug had a weird way of delivering compliments that sounded vaguely like insults.

Jesse poked his head up. "Well, do you have anything, Boss?"

"Okay, here's the thing..." Dawn said, trying to find the best way to approach this. "It's obviously going to take a long time to be able to formulate an idea that's anything like the Night Howler plan. And obviously, this one will have to be bigger and better in order to succeed where that one failed. Which means more planning and preparation."

"So…" Jesse began "what you're saying is... we just sit here and think up ideas for the next couple of months?"

"Hey, that was basically my plan!" Doug said.

" _Listen_ ," Dawn said, sternly. "I have no intention of sitting around and doing nothing. Sure, it might take a long time to come up with the grand plan, but there are plenty of secondary issues we can deal with, to pass the time."

"Like what?" asked Doug.

"Just the basics..." Dawn said, beginning to pace around the room. "We'll need to get ourselves a nicer place to live, that's for sure. We'll also need to rally as many prey mammals as we can find. Get them to be on our side. But we still need to find ways to stay one step ahead of the police." She paused, and then a smile appeared on her face. "Speaking of police... I think a little revenge us in order."

There was silence, and then Jesse asked. "Revenge on who?"

"Who do you think, Jesse?!" Dawn shouted. "I'm talking about Hoppsy the Copsy and her fox boyfriend! Those two need to pay for what they've done. And trust me, we'll need them to be out of the picture once we start our new plan."

After a moment, Doug sighed, looked unsure. "Well, as it happens, I have done a bit of research on them," he said. "They're supposed to be two of the best cops in the ZPD. And I don't know if you've noticed, but we don't exactly have the power we once did. What are we supposed to do, prank call 'em?"

Jesse perked up. "I actually really want to do that. Can we do that?"

"We are not going to stoop to that level," Dawn said, angrily.

"Then what do we do?" asked Doug. He was beginning to sound a little angry himself.

Dawn sighed. "I don't know…" she paused, taking a moment to think. Then she looked back at Doug. "Look her up."

"Her?" asked Doug.

"Judy," Dawn said firmly. "Judith Laverne Hopps. ZPD. Look her up."

As Doug began searching for her on his phone, Jesse raised his eyebrow. "Wow, I can't believe you remember her full name and everything."

"Well…" Dawn began, slowly. "There was a time where we were friends. Or at least, I genuinely believed that she was my friend…"

Dawn stopped talking, lost in thought. She still couldn't believe how Judy had betrayed her like that. Admittedly, Dawn had been keeping her role in the Night Howler plan a secret at that time, but she had fully believed that she eventually would have let Judy in on her plan and that the bunny would have been proud of her. Perhaps they could have even worked together.

But no, Judy just had to go and choose a different path. The path of the predators. The path of the monsters. And she teamed up with that fox and proceeded to ruin everything.

"Hey look!" said Doug, interrupting the ewe's train of thought. "The bunny has a Furbook page!"

Dawn was disappointed to see the results of said page. Judy didn't have many posts, most likely because she didn't want any details from her job getting out. The few posts she had were all pictures of her and her fox, looking happy together.

Each photo was like a stab in the heart for Dawn.

But it was the most recent photo that caught Dawn's attention. The picture itself was just as corny as the others, with Judy holding train tickets in such a way that didn't reveal any of the information on said tickets. The caption read, "Taking some time off work for the holidays! Nick and I are heading over to my family's place. Fingers crossed things don't get too hectic!"

Doug stared at the picture. "I can't read what it says on the ticket," he said, quizzically. "I don't know where they're going."

But Dawn knew. "Bunnyburrow."

Doug turned to face her. "What?"

"She grew up in Bunnyburrow," Dawn said. "I know because she told me herself. And if I remember correctly, she said she has a very extensive family."

After a moment, Doug said "So… she's just bringing that fox with her to a house filled with bunnies? Is she completely insane or just evil?"

"I have no idea what she's about…" Dawn said. Then her eyes widened. "But maybe I can find out for myself."

Doug looked at her like she was crazy. "Boss, what are you talking about?" he asked. "Don't forget that you are literally one of the most hated criminals in the world right now, and now you want to seek out two of the ZPD's finest officers? Oh yeah, nice move."

"I'm not saying I'm going to confront them," Dawn said. She was beginning to put the plan together as she spoke. "I'm saying… I want to spy on them. Learn about them. And then try to hurt them from the inside."

"Well, even if we could do that, it would be very risky," Doug said. "What if they see you?"

"I'll keep a low profile," Dawn said, simply. "I'm pretty small, I could probably stay out of sight."

"Well, in Bunnyburrow, they're all 'pretty small'," said Doug. "The town is mostly bunnies. Not to mention, having wool that's bright white isn't exactly inconspicuous."

Dawn's eyes immediately lit up. "What if it wasn't bright white?"

Doug blinked. "Okay, now you've officially lost me."

"What if I disguised myself? What if I got some makeup, or even just some non-toxic black paint, and I just... painted my wool? I mean, I think I could make it look pretty convincing if I tried."

Both Doug and Jesse looked at each other, a little unsure of the idea. Eventually, Doug spoke. "…That could work, I guess."

"Oh, it will work," said Dawn. "And I can tell you one thing – I am _not_ going to sit around in this room for any longer than I have to. I have spent way too much time behind bars, and the sooner I can get back in power, the better."

"You do realize it won't be easy," said Doug.

"Nothing worth doing is," Dawn said, simply. "I _will_ take back control of the city. It's going to be a long process with lots of steps, but by God, I will get it done."

"Okay, so... what's step one?"

"Step One is to create a fake identity. I need makeup and a forged I.D. card, at the very least. And we need to do it as fast as possible so that we can start Step Two." She then gave her colleagues a smile that was equal parts excited and sinister.

"Boys, I am going to Bunnyburrow."


	4. Going Incognito

Chapter Four: Going Incognito

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I apologize if the first couple of chapters are kind of slow. I decided to spice things up a bit by adding a bit of WildeHopps in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

It had been less then 24 hours since Dawn Bellwether had escaped from prison, and so far, very few mammals actually knew that she was out.

The prison guards knew, of course, and they had notified Mayor Swinton. There was a big debate over whether or not the public should be made aware of the news, but the general consensus was that, either way, the police needed to know.

Once Chief Bogo was told, he immediately let all working officers know in that morning's briefing. Any officers who weren't working that day were sent a private email.

However, there were two off-duty cops in particular who had forgotten to look at their emails that morning.

…

"Nick, are you listening to me?"

Nick Wilde blinked, dropping whatever train of thought had been occupying his mind. "Of course I was listening, Carrots," He said. "Now, repeat everything you just said."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Dumb fox."

Nick chuckled but didn't respond.

After a moment, Judy looked back at him. "Is everything all right?"

"Pfft, of course," Nick responded in a casual manner. "I'm fine."

"Nick..." said Judy, "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

Judy crossed her arms. "That thing you do where you act all aloof, like nothing's bothering you. But on the inside you're like…" She deepened her voice. "Oh my gosh, this is torture, get me out of this whirlwind of pain!"

"First of all, that sounds nothing like me." Nick said flatly. After a moment or two, he sighed. "I don't know, it's just… do we really have to stay here all the way through New Year's?"

Judy raised an eyebrow. "I thought you liked it here."

"I do, it's just… I don't know…" His voice trailed off.

Judy looked at her partner, confused. "Nick, are you worried about spending all this time with my family?

Nick immediately looked elsewhere. "What, why would I be nervous?" he asked. "I already spent the holidays here last year."

"Yes, but that was before we officially started dating," said Judy.

"Well, Christmas is already over, and a lot of the relatives have left, so..." Nick put on a phony smile. "It's no problem at all!"

Judy paused, and then a slow smile crept up on her face. "Come on, Nick. If you had a choice between being cornered in an alleyway with four rhinos, or one dinner with the Hopps family…"

"Oh, why do you force me to make such choices?" Nick yelled in mock agony. "I don't know, mostly I would just feel sorry for the rhinos, but…"

Judy laughed again.

Nick sighed. "I don't know. I guess it feels kind of weird. It's like..." He tried to think of the right way to put it. "Like... did you ever see that movie where the tiger is dating a deer, and he goes to meet her family but it turns out they're all into freaky brain transplants?"

"Spoiler alert," Judy said. "Nick, this isn't a horror movie. This is real life." She reached out and grabbed his paw. "My family adores you. Mom and Dad see you as one of the family now, and most of my siblings seem to have warmed up to you."

Nick scoffed. "Yeah, the key word being most." He awkwardly looked around. "Look, I'm sure I'll get used to it. It's just a little weird being the only fox in the entire neighborhood."

"You're not the only-" Judy started to say, when suddenly, her ears stood up on end. "Sweet cheese and crackers!"

Nick smiled. "You mean when we have dinner, we're finally going to be eating these sweet cheese and crackers that you keep mentioning?"

Judy ended up laughing in spite of herself. "No, it's just… I remembered something. Mom asked me to pick up a few pies from Gideon's shop on the way home, and I completely forgot."

"You think they could have gone bad?" asked Nick.

Judy shook her head. "He always keeps them frozen. We'll just make a quick stop on the way home. Easy peezy."

As the two of them started walking along the sidewalk, Nick couldn't resist making a few more comments. "Easy peezy. You know, you can be such a stereotypical country bunny sometimes."

"I am not a stereotypical bunny and you know it."

"Right, you were just raised on a farm with a love of carrots and about a million siblings-" He was immediately silenced by one of Judy's 'playful' punches. "OW! Okay. That's not part of the stereotype."

"Come on, Slick. The shop is this way."

"And by the way, don't expect me to know all of your siblings by name any time soon. I tried looking over those flash cards you gave me, but it was a nightmare. Literally. I kept seeing bunnies in my dreams for the next week!"

"…And you're complaining?"

…

Meanwhile, about 211 miles away from Bunnyburrow, Doug Ramses arrived at their makeshift hideout.

He was having quite the busy day. First, he had gone out and bought all the paint and makeup that they needed to convincingly transform Dawn into a black sheep. Then, it took about an hour for Dawn to apply all of the makeup. After that, they took a picture and Doug had quickly gone through his contacts, trying to find someone who could put a fake I.D. together without asking too many questions.

The good news is, he had found the right mammal.

The bad news was, the mammal was a sloth.

The bottom line is, it was getting pretty late by the time Doug came back, and when he did, he was given a not-so-friendly greeting by Jesse.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked. "What have you been doing."

Doug stared at him. "I was helping myself to drugs and hookers," he said in a deadpan matter. Then he realized there was a good chance that Jesse might be taking it seriously. "I was getting the fake I.D. made, you dummy!"

"Well, what took you so long?"

"What difference does it make?" asked Doug. "The point is I have it. Where's the boss?"

At that moment, Dawn came out of the bathroom, completely disguised as a black sheep.

The transformation was truly remarkable. Back when they had initially gotten the makeup, Doug had offered to put it on her, but Dawn insisted on doing it herself. It was probably better this way, because she clearly spent a long time on it. And while, admittedly, she still resembled herself, the change in wool color would hopefully be enough to let her walk around incognito.

She turned to face Doug. "Do you have it?" she asked.

The larger sheep handed her the fake I.D. card. "Here it is," he said. "It took me all day, but it's finally done. "

Dawn looked at the card. "Felicity O. Slate. Sheep. Female. Born 1982," she read aloud. "Yes, this should do the trick."

Just then, Jesse stood up. "Guys, I just don't think this is a good idea."

Doug snorted. "Well, now is a _really_ bad time to be voicing your opinion."

"Just think about this," said Jesse. "Remember when we did the Night Howler plan, how she spent months planning it out, even the tiniest details? This plan… it just feels like she's making it up as she goes!"

"You know I can hear you, right?" asked Dawn. "You don't have to talk like I'm not in the room. And for the record, yes, the last plan was excessively planned out. But in case you haven't noticed, we still lost. Meanwhile, do you think Little Miss Country Bunny had a plan? Of course not! But she still managed to beat me at my own game, and she did it by improvising. Maybe I should take a cue from her playbook."

Neither of Dawn's co-conspirators had anything further to say, so she continued. "Now, do you know what time the next train for Bunnyburrow departs?

"Um…"

"Well…"

"UGH!" Dawn shouted through gritted teeth. "Do I have to do _everything_ around here?" She grabbed Jesse's phone off of the table and started frantically typing.

"Hey!" shouted Jesse. "That's mine!"

"Well, I'm going to have to communicate to you when I'm in Bunnyburrow," Dawn snapped at them. "Which means one of you is going to have to give up your phone."

While Jesse and Doug began arguing over whose phone rights were more important, Dawn pulled up the information for train schedules out of Zootopia. "Okay, the next train out of here is about… 45 minutes away! I have to leave now."

"I'll drive you to the station." offered Doug.

"Thanks," said Dawn. "And I'm probably gonna need some money when I get there."

"Ugh, fine." Said Doug. "But can we talk about this in the car?"

"Fair enough," said Dawn.

And just like that, they were headed out the door.

…

"You know, Carrots…" said Nick. "I didn't think it would take this long to reach the shop."

"Well, cut me some slack!" said Judy. "I haven't been here since last year!" And with that, she led him into the shop.

The inside of the pie shop was not what Nick was expecting. For starters, the ceiling was higher than usual for a building in Bunnyburrow, probably to attract larger mammals. The walls were lined with old vinyl records and there was a jukebox in the far corner.

Gideon Grey was standing behind the counter, wiping it down. His frock was messy and he appeared to be a little overworked, but he still seemed happy. He looked up and smiled. "Hey there, Judy!" he said. "I was waiting for you!"

"Hey, Gideon," said Judy. "I'd love to chat, but I'm afraid I don't have a lot of time. I'm here to pick up some pies."

"Ah, yeah." he said, smiling. "I've got them in the back. Just give me a second." He then gave Nick a little smile and a wave before going into the kitchen.

Nick had only met the other fox a couple of times before, in passing. He was vaguely aware that Gideon had bullied Judy when they were younger, which was perhaps why Nick was unwilling to become closer friends with him. But Judy insisted that everything was fine between them now, so Nick tried to give his fellow red fox the benefit of the doubt.

Judy and Nick were waiting in silence for a few moments before Nick suddenly got a call on his phone. He looked and sighed. "It's Finnick," he said. "I should probably take this." Judy nodded, and Nick picked up. He started walking in the opposite direction, going by the jukebox to answer the call in relative privacy.

Just then, Gideon came back with the pies. "Here you go," he said. "That should be everything."

"Thank you." said Judy. As she got out her wallet to pay, she decided to make small talk. "Things have been pretty hectic these last few days."

"I can't imagine it's been any more hectic than life in the city," Gideon replied.

"It's a different kind of hectic," Judy clarified, before asking, "How has everything been with you? I don't think I've seen you since last year."

Gideon sighed. "Same old, same old."

After a moment or two, Judy realized he didn't have anything to add. "That's it?" she asked.

He just shrugged. "I can't complain. I like my life. It's just not as... amazing as yours, that's all."

Judy nodded, and then sarcastically asked, "Thinking about joining the ZPD any time soon?"

Gideon didn't seem to pick up on the sarcasm. His eyes went wide. "No! Oh heck no! Gee, I could never do a thing like that. I'm not fast enough, strong enough and I'm definitely not smart enough..."

"Relax," Judy said. "It was a joke. Nobody's forcing you to do anything crazy like that."

After a moment or two, Gideon commented, "You didn't seem to think it was a crazy thing to do."

Judy shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it was something I felt I needed to do. We all have our own paths to take in life. I found mine and you found yours."

Gideon smiled, but there was a hint of melancholy in his eyes. "Yeah, this is my path," he said. "Making pies and selling them, making enough money to get by... I get to see the smiles on everybody's faces, that's nice. I'm 29 and still single, but that's okay..."

Judy's eyes widened a bit. "You know, I'm kinda shocked that nobody has snatched you up yet."

"I mean, it's not that surprising," said Gideon. "There aint' that many vixens in this town. Now, I don't mind interspecies dating, but most of the girls I've met… they seem to mind. Hell, most of them still remember my bullying days, so…" he trailed off.

"Listen to me," Judy said, gently. "Those days are ancient history. And any girl, vixen or otherwise, would be lucky to have you."

Gideon started to blush. "Well, thank you Judy," he said. "That means a lot."

Judy smiled and was about to respond, when...

"Carrots! Carrots!"

She turned and saw Nick in the corner, who was looking at his phone with a frantic look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" asked Judy.

Nick was about to answer, when he realized Gideon was also looking at him. "Uhhh…" he said, trying to keep his composure. "This… this is a private, work related issue."

Judy instantly understood and quickly gave Gideon the money. She then grabbed the pies and started walking out the door, quickly saying "Goodbye!"

...

Once she was out of the shop, Nick looked over both of his shoulders.

"Nick, what's wrong?" asked Judy. "You're starting to to freak me out."

Nick bit his lip, looking panicked. "Have you been checking your emails?" he asked.

"Not really since I got here," said Judy.

"Me neither," said Nick. "But after I hung up with Finnick, I thought I would look at them. There was a message from Bogo marked URGENT."

"What happened?"

"Apparently, there was a breakout in a TundraTown high security prison. A lot of criminals managed to get out before it was contained."

Judy looked worried. "Oh no. And we're here… we can't do anything." After a moment, she sighed. "Well, there are other cops there, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about…"

"I didn't tell you the worst part."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "The _worst_ part?" she repeated.

Nick took a deep breath. And then he uttered the name like it was a curse word "…Bellwether."

Judy's eyes went wide. "As in former Mayor Bellwether…"

"You know the one," Nick said. "She escaped."


	5. Welcome To The Burrow

Chapter Five: Welcome To The Burrow

Author's Note: I hope you're enjoying the story so far. This chapter in particular is ridiculously short. I was planning on releasing the next two chapters as one, but I ended up with a chapter that was much too long.

I'm currently trying to get as most of my writing done in advance. I want to make sure I have the whole story, ending and all, ready to go in a moment's notice. Back when I was writing Z-Harmony, I just lost interest in that particular story, and unfortunately, that meant that all of my readers got an incomplete story.

And nothing is worse than an incomplete story.

Well, I think there are a lot of things you can argue are much worse, but I'm ignoring that for now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

Judy found it difficult to speak, or even think.

She was secretly hoping that this was just one of Nick's stupid little jokes. But then she looked back at him and saw the look on his face. Judy had known him for long enough to be able to tell when he was joking and when he was being serious. This was definitely not a joke.

"H…how?" she finally managed to get out.

"I don't know too many of the details," Nick said, sounding utterly lost. "It just says that there was a break out. You can read the email yourself."

Judy promptly took out her phone and checked her emails. Her heart sank when she saw that Bogo's urgent email was indeed real. And when she opened it up to look at it, she only felt worse.

The email was composed in a very efficient manner. It only mentioned that someone had blown up a prison wall with dynamite, and about 14 convicts had gotten out before it was contained. And then there was a list of names, with every convict who had escaped. While Judy vaguely recognized some of the names on the list, the only name that meant anything to her was "Dawn Bellwether."

"Does the public know about this?" asked Judy.

Nick shook his head. "If this was common information, we would have heard by now. Look, it even says in the email not to tell anyone."

"Well, that's just wrong," Judy said. She was so frustrated, she had to make a conscious effort not to tap her foot repeatedly.

"Hey, it makes sense." Nick argued. "They don't want the citizens of Zootopia to worry."

"But they should be worried!" said Judy, a bit louder than she probably should have. "If there is a dangerous criminal on the loose-"

"Ssh!" said Nick, worried. "Keep your voice down! We don't want the whole Tri-Burrows to hear about this!"

Judy took a deep breath. "You're right", she said, a little quieter. "But still, if nobody knows that Bellwether has escaped, then we're basically giving her the opportunity she needs to form whatever big revenge thing she's undeniably planning right now! By the time the citizens realize she's out, it'll be too late!"

"Okay, now let's just calm down and think about this rationally." Nick said, trying to ease his own concerns as well. "We don't know anything about what she's planning, or if she's even planning anything at all. Heck, we don't even know if she wants revenge!"

"Wouldn't you?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't even want to imagine what goes on inside the mind of someone like that."

After a brief pause, Judy crossed her arms. "Well, we can't just sit around and do nothing."

"Technically we are off-duty," Nick said. "And it's the holiday season. I mean, maybe her big plan is to get the two of us into a frenzy and interrupt what's supposed to be a peaceful time for us."

Judy raised an eyebrow, inquisitively. "What are you saying?" she asked. "That she wants to ruin Christmas like some sort of cartoon villain?"

"Well, she can't. Because Christmas is over," Nick said. "Look, all I'm saying is that maybe if we want to make her really mad, we should just not let her get in the way of our happiness. We should put our trust in our fellow officers and just… enjoy our holiday."

Judy sighed, lost in thought. "I'm not gonna lie, it's tempting. But… I just don't think I'll be able to relax knowing that she's out there."

"That's exactly what she wants," Nick said.

"Nick, there's a difference between 'kill them with kindness' and 'pretend our problems don't exist.'" Judy argued. "I mean, for goodness' sake, what if she comes after us while we're on our vacation?"

"I think you might be just a little bit paranoid."

"We shouldn't underestimate her."

"She has no power. Pretty much the entire population of Zootopia is against her. She is going to get what's coming to her."

In truth, Nick only partially believed what he was saying. Inside, he was just as terrified as Judy was, but he also felt that there was a good chance that Bellwether would be caught and put back in prison before they got back from vacation.

Plus, he was really looking forward to spending some quality time with his girlfriend.

After a while, Judy took a deep, long breath. "Maybe you're right…" she said. "But I'm going to email the chief. I'll tell him that we're happy to come back at a moment's notice."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "We? Since when are you the one speaking for both of us…"

Judy turned to face him. "Nick," she said in a serious tone. "If the chief orders us to come back, we're both coming back. I would love to be able to relax with you, but I'd rather make sure that innocent mammals don't lose their lives. We can't let that… that _monster_ get away with any more crimes, Nick. We just can't."

Nick was silent for a few moments. Then he looked Judy right in the eyes and gave her a warm smile. "Don't you worry, Carrots. We kicked Bellwether's tail once, we can do it again."

Judy looked back at him with immense gratitude, and then wrapped her arms against him for a big hug. Nick definitely had a talent for being able to add a little bit of humor to a serious situation. He always knew exactly when to do it and when not to do it.

It was one of the things she loved about him.

…

Dawn had been looking out the train window for a very long time.

The weather was turning grey, and it looked like there was a storm on the horizon. But none of that mattered to Dawn.

"Train now arriving in BunnyBurrow. Last stop."

Dawn didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed her bag, noting how heavy it was. It was filled with money she had borrowed from Doug. (She fully intended to pay it back once she was put back in a position of power.) It also had several changes of clothes and a bunch of makeup, so that she could she could wash off and reapply her 'black sheep' disguise as needed. While the train ride over had been excessively long, Dawn had taken comfort in the fact that nobody on the train had recognized her. Her disguise was working perfectly.

And just like that, she stepped off the train.

Here she was. Bunnyburrow.

Dawn had never been to Bunnyburrow before, but it didn't seem unfamiliar to her. In fact, it reminded her very much of Deerbrooke County, where she lived the first eighteen years of her life before attending college in Zootopia.

The town had a very quaint and humble feel to it. And the mammals that lived here, which she assumed was about 99% prey, all seemed very nice and approachable.

"Oh, hello there."

Dawn turned to the sound of the voice, and was greeted by the sight of a black ewe. This one was taller than Dawn and was wearing a pink dress, but other than that, the two of them looked very similar.

"Uh… hello," Dawn said, cautiously.

The other ewe smiled. "My name's Sharla. I don't mean to get in your way or anything, but it's not every day I meet another black sheep. Well, at least not one that I'm related to, that is!" She laughed at her own joke.

While Sharla seemed nice enough, Dawn was slightly taken aback by her 'country' dialect and her overly friendly attitude.

"…Really?" Dawn commented.

"What's your name?" asked Sharla.

"Felicity," Dawn said immediately. She had been practicing using her alias while in the train, along with a few simple stock lines. "I'm Felicity Slate, nice to meet you."

"What brings you here, Felicity?"

"I'm just visiting a friend for the holidays."

"That's nice," said Sharla. "But you're a few days late. Christmas is over."

Dawn silently cursed Doug for not being able to get her out just a couple of days sooner.

"Well, who am I to judge?" Sharla said. "Anyway, I've got to be getting back to my family, so…"

"Hey, um…" Dawn said, interrupting. "You wouldn't know of any good places around here to stay, would you? Like a motel, or something?"

Sharla looked a little puzzled. "Can't you just stay at your friend's house?" she asked.

"Well, I would, but… there's no room, you see.." Dawn said, quickly improvising. "It's a bunny, so… they have a big family."

"I understand," said Sharla, who seemed to be buying it. "Well, if you go about four blocks east, you'll find the Rutebega Motel. It's pretty old, but it's still in operation."

"Thank you," Dawn said, getting ready to end the conversation. But before she could, one last thought came into her mind. "Do you know of any good places to eat around here?"

Sharla laughed. "Well, gee. This friend of yours must be pretty bad if they're going to just let you starve. But in all seriousness, if you're looking for a place to eat out, you can't do much better than Gideon's Pie Shop. It's right by the motel, you can't miss it."

"Do you think it'll still be open around this time?" Dawn asked. "It is getting pretty late."

"Oh, don't you worry about that." Sharla said. "Gideon keeps his shop open as late as he can, particularly to help mammals like you, who want a good meal at inconvenient hours."

Dawn secretly wondered if everybody in this town was too nice for their own good. "Well, thank you so much," she said.

"You're welcome, Felicity!" Sharla called out, right before she turned around and started walking home.

As Dawn started walking in the direction her friend had advised her in, she started to feel a spring in her step. Sure, she was tired and hungry, but she also felt ridiculously happy. She was finally out of that prison, and she was going to get even with on the two mammals that had ruined her life.

But even as she was planning her revenge, she found herself enjoying the town of Bunnyburrow. As much as she had grown used to the city, there was something warm and inviting about this place. It was the kind of place that she wouldn't mind living.

If nothing else, at least there were no predators here.


	6. Easy As Pie

Chapter Six: Easy As Pie

Author's Note: So, one thing that keeps happening as I write this story is I keep adding chapters. When I first started out, I honestly thought we would be about three chapters in at this point in the story, But I found myself wanting to flesh out the story as much as possible. I don't know where all of this inspiration is coming from, but I'm not going to complain.

Also, side note - I just updated the cover image. I hope you like it.

Let's continue the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

Nothing was ever really 'quiet' in the Hopps family warren. With over 200 siblings, there was always something going on. And considering that it was the holiday season, things were even louder than usual. In all the years she had lived with her parents, Judy had gotten used to it.

But now, considering the day's developments, she just wanted some piece and quiet.

She ended up excusing herself from the dinner table before anyone else had left. And shortly afterwards, Nick had left the table, too. He wandered through the labyrinth-like corridors of the warren before finally finding Judy. She was sitting on the floor looking at her phone.

"Mind if I cut in?" he asked.

Judy didn't answer, so after a few moments, he sat down next to her. He peered over her shoulder and glanced at her phone. There was an email from Bogo.

 _Thank you for your concern, Officer Hopps. Miss Bellwether's escape is deeply troubling for everyone in the precinct. If you truly want to come back to the city, I won't stop you, but I would advise against it. According to the mayor, the public will be made aware of Miss Bellwether's escape sooner rather than later, so whatever 'element of surprise' she has will quickly be lost. Also, regarding your possible concern about whether or not Miss Bellwether could follow you to the burrows, I honestly have no idea. I would not rule anything out. And if you happen to come across any information on her whereabouts, by all means, keep us updated. However, I will say this - I cannot think of any officer in this precinct who is more deserving of a break. I would recommend you stay and try to enjoy your vacation, but I can understand if you find that too difficult._

 _– Chief Vincent Bogo, Precinct 1, ZPD._

"Huh," remarked Nick. "I always wondered what his first name was."

Judy sighed. "What do we do, Nick?"

"Well, the chief was right about one thing," said Nick. "You've earned a break. We both have."

Judy's face showed conflicting emotions. "Yes, but… I just don't know if I'll be able to relax knowing that _she_ is out there!"

"Look, it's going to be fine," Nick said. "Just like I was saying earlier, all the advantages she had the last time are gone."

Judy fidgeted a bit in her seat. "I really, really want to believe that."

Truthfully, so did Nick.

…

Dawn was in a very good mood.

She had just booked a room in the Rutebega Motel under her fake name. She had given her card to an elderly rabbit (who may or may not have been older than the motel), and he had bought it - hook, line and sinker.

By itself, the motel room was not exactly fancy, but considering that Dawn had just spent the previous two years in prison, it was a welcome change.

She was going to call Doug from the comfort of her room, but she changed her mind when she heard the rumbling of her own stomach. She hadn't really had a proper meal since getting out of prison, and even then, that was only if you considered the slop that they served in prison to be a 'proper meal'.

So, after putting down a few items, she left the motel in search of Gideon's pie shop. She wasn't normally one to overindulge in treats, but given that this was a special occasion, she felt that she could splurge a little.

After a short walk, she came across the shop. It was taller than most buildings in Bunnyburrow, and it had a sign in front of it that read 'Gideon's Pie Shop.' Dawn noticed that there was evidence of paint chipping away on the sign. She wondered if the sign had originally said something else and had been painted over.

In any event, this didn't concern her. She opened the door and was treated to an array of appealing smells. There were no other customers in the shop. Dawn felt immensely lucky that she had avoided a line, but her mood soured a bit when she realized that there was no one behind the counter, either.

"...Hello?" she called out.

After a few seconds, she heard a voice. "One moment," it said. "I'm just fixing something in the kitchen."

Dawn hard some sort of noise going on in the back room. It sounded like this 'Gideon' was having a bit of trouble.

While she waited, she looked around the shop. While the ceiling was indeed taller, the atmosphere fit in very well with the rest of Bunnyburrow. When she looked behind her she could see a rather large wreath just above the front door. The decorations were a bit corny, but still very welcoming. It was a charming and humble place.

Just then, she heard the voice again, closer this time. "Ah, Sharla. The usual?"

Dawn chuckled a bit. "I think you're mistaking me for a different ewe," she said, turning around. "Although I understand the confus-"

She froze.

This 'Gideon' was a predator.

A red fox, in fact. He was slightly overweight and appeared to be in his early thirties. He was wearing an apron and he had a smile on his face.

"Oh, my apologies, mam," he said. "You don't see too many black sheep in this town. What's your name?"

After a moment, Dawn pulled herself together enough to remember her alias. "…I'm Felicity. Are you Gideon?"

"Well, I'm the only Gideon I know," he said with a shrug. Then he noticed the nervous look on her face. "Is there a problem?" he asked.

"No," Dawn said, quickly. "It's just… well… I just wasn't expecting you to be a predator."

The words slipped out before she could think of an actual lie.

At least Gideon didn't seem to mind. "Yeah, I get that a lot," he said. "Not a lot of us in Bunnyburrow, I'm afraid. But somehow, I got to run this shop. Everybody tells me my pies are good."

Dawn blinked. A fox was making pies in Bunnyburrow? Now this was just plain ridiculous. Obviously, he was stealing the pies. Or maybe just the recipes. No, definitely the pies. He didn't look clever enough to make pies on his own.

"Mam, are you all right?"

Dawn snapped out of it and tried to think of something casual to say.

"You make the pies yourself?" she asked.

Good enough.

"Yes, mam, I do," he said.

"What recipes do you use?" she asked. She was trying her best to appear meek while secretly grilling him.

Gideon laughed. "Well, as a chef, I can't go around spoiling my secrets, can I?" His tone of voice made him sound blissfully ignorant, but Dawn began to wonder if this fox knew more than he was letting on, and was trying to beat her at her own game.

"Speaking of which," Gideon continued, "Today's your lucky day. I got four pies fresh out of the oven. I was just making some extras, in case anyone needed some last minute food for the upcoming New Years' parties."

Right. Pies. That's why she was here. "How many did you say there were?" she asked.

"Four," said Gideon. Then he paused and added, "I'm assuming you don't want all of them."

Dawn snickered a bit. "Comical," she said. "What flavors are they?"

"Apple, raspberry, pecan, and pumpkin."

Dawn mulled it over for a few moments, and then said, "I'll take the pecan."

"One moment, please."

And with that, Gideon went into the kitchen. While he was getting the pie, Dawn took a few deep breaths.

There was no reason to be nervous. It was just one predator. This town was filled to the brim with bunnies. The prey to predator ratio was even greater here than it was in Zootopia.

And yet, somehow, this predator was running his own pie shop. And if the bunnies in this town really bought these pies, then that must mean that Gideon was doing what all predators did to prey; lulling them into a false sense of security.

Of course, Dawn wasn't _scared_ of Gideon. On his own, he seemed fairly harmless. But she was very scared of what Gideon represented. Preds being seamlessly integrated into society, while all the prey mammals act like nothing is wrong.

Thank goodness she knew better.

Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by Gideon's voice. "There you go," he said. "That'll be $8.00."

Dawn found herself raising an eyebrow. "Really?" she said. Then she muttered to herself, "Compared to the prices in Zootopia, that's a steal."

"Oh, you're from Zootopia, are you?"

Dawn had forgotten that foxes were particularly good listeners. She paused, then said, "That's right."

"What brings you to our humble town?" he asked.

"I'm visiting a friend," Dawn said, quoting her stock line.

Just then, a thought occurred to her. If this fox really was as dumb as he looked, maybe she could take advantage of it.

Dawn put on the most innocent face she could muster and asked "Incidentally, do you know where the Hopps family lives?"

"Oh, sure." Gideon said. "Just take Pine Street all the way south and then turn right at the bridge. It's a huge warren. Can't miss it."

"Thanks," Dawn said, as her phony smile became a genuine one.

"How do you know the Hopps family?" Gideon inquired.

"You know their daughter, Judy?" Dawn asked. "I met her in the city, she's my friend."

Gideon shrugged. "I should have known," he said. "Judy is friends with just about everybody."

Dawn handed Gideon the money. "Here you go, keep the change," she said. Then she turned around, silently cheering herself on. Even after all this time in prison, she was no slouch in manipulating predators.

"You're welcome, mam," Gideon said as she walked out of the shop. "I hope you have a nice evening!"

Dawn didn't say anything in return.

…

A few minutes later, Dawn was sitting in her new room, She had just showered, removing the makeup in the process, and she was currently talking on the phone with Doug.

"…And he just told you where the bunny lived?"

"Yep," Dawn said, gleefully.

"Wow…" said Doug. "That fox was dumber than the average predator, and that's saying something."

"So, here's the plan." Said Dawn. "It's too late to do some spying on those two cops right now. They're probably in bed right about now."

"Let's just hope they're not in the _same_ bed." Doug said.

"UGH!" shouted Dawn. "Do _not_ put that image in my head!"

"Sorry. My bad."

Dawn sighed. "Look, I figure I'll rest up and start my spying in the morning. And then I can get the real dirt on them."

"Okay." Said Doug. "Hey, was anybody suspicious about your disguise?"

"No," Dawn said proudly. "Nobody even batted an eye. To everyone else, I was just a normal black ewe going about her normal day."

"Amazing!" said Doug. And in the background, it sounded like Jesse was cheering.

Dawn smiled, content in how the day had gone. "Well, good night," she said, and she was just about to put the phone down, when…

"Wait!" Doug said. "I just wanted to ask… did you actually eat the pie? …You know, the one that the fox gave you."

Dawn looked over at the pie, which was still sitting on her bedside table. "I haven't eaten it yet," she admitted. "I don't know if I should."

"I mean, the whole reason you went to the shop in the first place was because you were hungry, right? I imagine that hasn't changed."

Dawn bit her lip, unsure. "What if he poisoned it?"

One the other end of the phone, Doug chortled. "Do you really think that fox would be smart enough to know how to poison something?'

Dawn thought it over for a few seconds and then said, "Good point."

She went over to grab the pie. It was still fairly hot, and it was rather small. Just the right size for her. She took out a fork and knife and began to cut out a small piece.

Doug was still listening in on the other end. "I just hope it isn't too bad. I mean, the cooking down in rural areas like that can be pretty bland. At least, from what I heard."

"Oh my God…"

"…Boss, what's wrong?"

"This is _delicious_."

Maybe it was the whole 'two years in prison' thing, but Dawn couldn't remember the last time she had tasted something this good. If she had been more poetic, she would have said something elegant like, 'The flavors are dancing on my tongue.' But Dawn wasn't poetic.

"This is the best damn pie I've ever tasted," she said.

Doug gave a slight chuckle. "Well, that settles it," he said. "Now I know for a fact he didn't make it himself. It has to be a stolen recipe."

Dawn shrugged in between bites. "Stolen or not, I'm not complaining."

"All right then," said Doug, "I think you and the pie should have some alone time together."

"Oh har har," said Dawn with her mouth full.

"All right, goodnight, Boss." And with that, Doug hung up.

…

Shortly afterwards, Dawn was lying in bed. She was so grateful to finally be sleeping in an actual bed for once, and she had eaten about three quarters of the pie. She hadn't meant to do it, but once she started eating, she just couldn't stop.

She wondered if maybe there was some sort of addictive drug in the recipe, but she quickly discarded that thought. After all, in the past two years she hadn't eaten anything that actually tasted good. It only made sense that she would go crazy over the pie.

But right before she drifted off, she found herself thinking about that fox, who was seemingly one of the only predators in the entire town. Was it possible that he really had cooked up that pie all by himself? After all, he had seemed awfully nice for a predator.

Wait, what was she thinking? 'Nice for a predator'? That was an oxymoron. There were no nice predators. This fox was just putting on an act, like all the others.

Still, he had given her the pie, and Dawn was genuinely grateful.

It almost made what she was planning to do seem cruel.


	7. Understanding The Enemy

Chapter Seven: Understanding The Enemy

Author's Note: As I was writing this story, one thing that's becoming increasingly clear is that this story is probably going to be longer than 50,000 words. This is going to be a fully-fledged novel, and that's intimidating to me. Hopefully, I finish it.

Also, a quick heads up – this is the longest chapter so far.

All right, back to the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

"Good morning, everyone. Welcome to ZNN. I'm your anchor, Peter Moosebridge."

"And I'm Fabienne Growley."

"Now, before we begin our scripted news coverage for this morning, we have some breaking news. We literally received this news mere minutes before we were about to go on the air. Yesterday, there were some rumors going around regarding a high security prison in Tundra Town. It has now been confirmed by Mayor Swinton that there was indeed a breakout, and several prisoners did indeed escape."

"Now, a number of these convicts have already been caught and are now in police custody, but one escaped convict who has not been found is former mayor Dawn Bellwe- Oh my God…"

"Keep it together, Fabienne."

"Sorry. Former mayor Dawn Bellwether, who was the mastermind of the 2016 Night Howler conspiracy."

"The ZPD's finest are on the lookout, but anyone who has any information on her whereabouts should contact the police immediately."

"This is actually happening right now, Peter... I don't believe it-"

"-And now over to Jeff with the weather!"

…

Dawn woke up to the sound of her ringtone. She yawned, put her glasses on, and picked up her phone.

It was Doug.

She was slightly confused about why he had decided to call her so early, but she pressed the button to answer. "Hello…" she said, drowsily.

"They know," Doug said immediately.

"What?"

"They know you escaped!"

Dawn was confused. "Who knows I escaped?"

"Everybody!" shouted Doug. "It's all over the news."

Dawn let out a long sigh. She thought she would have had at least a little more time before everyone started looking for her.

On the other end of the phone, she could hear Jesse's voice. "This is too risky," he said. "Maybe you should come back."

"No," said Dawn, firmly. "I'm already here and I have those two cops practically in my sights."

"But now they'll be looking for you, too!" Doug argued.

"Look, they probably think I'm still in the city," she said. "Nobody has any reason to believe I'm here."

She then heard Jesse's voice. "But what if the bunny and the fox go back into the city to find you, and then you go into the city to find them, and it turns out this whole trip to Bunnyburrow was just one big waste of time?"

"Look," said Dawn. "I'm going to go out and spy on them today. And then, based on what I find out, we can decide on our next move."

"Well, be careful," said Doug. "Now that they're looking for you, maybe your 'black sheep' disguise won't be as effective."

"Good point," said Dawn. "Okay, we'll talk later this afternoon."

"All right," said Doug.

"Catch you later, boss!" said Jesse.

After hanging up, Dawn looked online, and quickly saw that everyone was talking about her escape from prison. Fortunately for her, they all seemed to be looking in the wrong places.

For breakfast, Dawn heated up the rest of the pie in the microwave, and once she had finished that, she got to work applying all of the makeup required. She wanted to be as thorough as possible, knowing that even a tiny patch of white in her wool would end up giving the game away.

Once she was ready, she headed out the door.

…

By the time Dawn got to the street where the Hopps family lived, she had already lost count of how many times she had looked over her shoulder.

In truth, hardly anyone was looking at her. And on the rare occasion that someone would glance in her direction, Dawn would quickly look the other way. Then she realized this only made her look more suspicious, which made her even more worried.

She kept trying to convince herself that she was just being paranoid. After all, no one had any idea that she was actually in Bunnyburrow. But even though her disguise was fairly convincing, she still had the same glasses and the same height.

For now though, she felt fairly confident being out in the open. But once the police started putting up wanted posters, then she would have a problem.

As Dawn arrived at the Hopps warren, it suddenly occurred to her that she didn't really have a concrete plan. It wasn't like she could just knock on the door. Sure, Judy's parents might fall for the disguise, but she didn't think she could fool the two cops she was trying to spy on. They had both seen her up close, and now they knew she had escaped.

Dawn realized she was massively underprepared. She should have brought some sort of tiny microphone so she could bug the house, or maybe she should have brought someone along to help. Heck, even a pair of binoculars would have been useful.

Dawn decided that she had to start doing _something_ , and then maybe an idea would come to her. So she started walking around the Hopps warren in the most inconspicuous way possible.

Luckily for her, the large warren had a lot of windows, and Dawn could see inside. She saw a seemingly endless supply of rabbits that she guessed were Judy's siblings. Some of them almost looked like Judy from a distance, but when Dawn approached the windows, she could tell it was just some other bunny.

She tried to listen closely to the sounds coming from inside the building. There were a lot of voices, and every once in a while she thought she heard Judy's voice, but she could never be entirely sure.

Eventually, she came up to a window near the very back of the warren. She peered into the window and saw an empty bedroom. But while most of the bedrooms had contained bunk beds of alarming heights, this particular room only had one bed. It didn't look fancy enough to be the master bedroom, so Dawn guessed that it must have been a guest room.

Which meant it was probably where Judy's "partner" slept.

And seconds after this thought occurred to Dawn, the door at the far end of the room opened. And there they were.

Judy Hopps. Nick Wilde. The two mammals that ruined her life were here, in the flesh.

A large smile appeared on Dawn's face. "Today's my lucky day…" she muttered to herself.

"All right," said Judy, who was laughing at something Nick had said. "Well, at least close the window. We don't want the neighbors looking in."

Dawn silently cursed herself for speaking too soon.

"Sure thing, Carrots," said Nick, as he began walking over to where the window was. Dawn quickly got out of the way, and breathed a sigh of relief when the fox didn't see her. Once the window was shut, Dawn got back up. At least she could still hear their conversation.

"Nick, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Judy's voice. "I mean, it's the middle of the day and my siblings are around-

"We'll lock the door," said Nick's voice.

"I just don't know about this…" Judy sounded concerned about something.

"Look," Nick said. "You want to take your mind off the whole Bellwether thing? This is the best idea I've got."

"Okay, but if my parents find out?"

"I will be just as embarrassed as you."

"You are such a dumb fox."

"I know, and you love me for it."

Just then, they stopped talking. With Dawn's ear pressed up against the window, everything she heard just sounded muffled. She heard things that vaguely sounded like laughter, then the noise became just breathing. And then…

Wait, was that… moaning?

Suddenly, Dawn felt immensely grateful that the window was shut.

…

About an hour later, Dawn was wandering aimlessly through the streets of Bunnyburrow. In hindsight, this whole plan was stupid. She had been so eager to get revenge, she hadn't stopped and considered how to do it properly. She had jumped at the chance to get close to the two cops, but doing so only made her feel more miserable, not to mention a little nauseous.

So, she kept walking, lost in thought. Eventually, she reached a little park where young rabbits and a few other species were playing happily. Dawn was starting to feel a little tired of walking by this point, so she decided to sit on a nearby bench.

The sound of the children's laughter and the peaceful atmosphere made her feel a little better. Maybe now that she was in Bunnyburrow, the smartest move would be to stay put, at least for a little while. She was a wanted mammal, after all. At least here, no one would be looking for her. And it allowed her the time she needed to come up with a concrete plan.

After a while, she started watching the children in the park. There were quite a lot of them, and she realized that one of them was wearing a large pointy hat with bright colors. Her momentary confusion went away when she saw there were some tables in the back, with lots of food and balloons. This was a birthday party.

Dawn was content watching the innocent scene play out in front of her. She briefly wondered if she should go up and introduce herself as 'Felicity', trying to keep up the ruse. She ultimately decided against it. It was risky to draw too much attention to herself.

But while she was watching the party unfold, she noticed something rather alarming. One of these mammals was _not_ like the others. For in the back, she saw the fox from the other night, the one who allegedly made pies for a living.

And by the looks of thing, he was catering the party.

For the second time that day, Dawn felt nauseous. Even in a peaceful place like Bunnyburrow, the corruption of predators seemed to be everywhere. She was already trying to mentally block out what she heard over at the Hopps warren, and now this.

From Dawn's position on the bench, she could see the fox was smiling at the rabbit parents. "Well, thank you so much," he was saying. "But I should be getting back to my shop. I don't want to keep any of my customers waiting."

The mother smiled. "Thank you so much, Gideon."

"Any time, Mrs. O'Hare."

And then something happened that Dawn wasn't prepared for. As Gideon was picking up his things, he turned his head and saw her. After a moment, he smiled and gave a friendly wave.

'Predators really are sick, aren't they?' thought Dawn.

She didn't wave back. Instead, she got up and started walking to the end of the park. But after a moment, she realized that Gideon was walking in her direction.

Well, this day just kept getting worse.

"Felicity, right?" he asked.

While Dawn was not looking forward to talking with him again, she was admittedly a little grateful that her disguise was still working. Then again, this fox didn't seem particularly hard to fool.

"Yes, that's me," she said. "Shouldn't you be getting back to your job?" She had to resist the urge to make sarcastic quotes with her hooves on the word 'job.'

"Yeah, I should, it's just…" he hesitated. "You looked kinda nervous right now, and I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "You followed me because I looked nervous?"

Gideon was beginning to look nervous himself. "l mean, you're new here, and... well, I don't want to seem rude or nothing', but I know that a lot of prey mammals can be a little nervous around predators, and I just wanted to say-"

"Whoa, whoa!" Dawn put up her arms, defensively. "You think I'm afraid of predators?"

"I didn't say that…" Gideon said meekly.

"First of all, I'm not," Dawn said. "And second of all, you're not exactly making a good case for yourself by stalking me."

"I wasn't staking, I was just following."

Dawn crossed her arms. "Same difference."

Both mammals stood in silence for a few moments before Gideon decided to change the subject. "Well, anyhow, did you like the pie?"

Dawn hesitated, but then she sighed. "I can honestly say it was delicious. I don't know where you got the recipe from, but I enjoyed it."

"Thank you," Gideon said. "But like I said last night, I make the pies myself, with my own recipes."

Dawn was unconvinced. "Sure you do."

"Hey," said Gideon, "If you don't believe me, that's fine. Not everybody does. If you really feel that strongly about it, I can take you back in the kitchen and show you myself."

"Oh no, that won't be necessary," Dawn said, quickly.

"All right, then". And just when it looked like the conversation was over, Gideon's ears perked up a bit. "Hey, didn't you say you came from Zootopia?"

"That's right," Dawn responded, not sure where this was going.

"Well, it's a good thing you got out of the city just in time."

"Why?" asked Dawn, a little confused.

"Because of the news, about the escaped criminals," Gideon replied. "Didn't you hear? It was on the radio. That sheep, Bellwether, got out of jail."

After a brief moment of bewilderment, Dawn smiled. "Oh, yes. Her. You know, that Bellwether gives us sheep a bad name." She was glad that Gideon wasn't at all suspicious of her, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"You know," Gideon continued, "I wasn't in Zootopia when all that 'savage predator' stuff was going on. I just heard about it in the news. But gosh, it sounded bad."

"It was," said Dawn. She was enjoying how blissfully unaware Gideon was about the current situation.

Then she had an idea.

"Hey Gideon..." she began, "I'm curious… as a predator, do you feel scared knowing that Bellwether is out of prison?"

"Um, not really," Gideon replied. "I mean, I'm sure some predators are scared, but I have faith in the police in Zootopia. I'm sure they'll catch her in no time."

"You're not worried at all?" Dawn asked, trying to hide her disappointment.

Gideon shrugged. "I dunno, I figure worrying is never good for anybody, so…"

"Actually," said Dawn, "It can be very helpful if you're in a dangerous situation. From what I've heard, Bellwether was able to make predators lose their minds, turning them into the vicious monsters that their ancestors were. All I'm saying is... maybe you should be scared."

Gideon paused for a moment, and then sighed. "Going savage… I can't even imagine what that would feel like." His eyes weren't looking in any particular direction and he seemed to be lost in thought. "And that Bellwether, she hurt so many innocent mammals. Why would anybody do something so awful?"

"Well, if only we knew how she thinks…" said Dawn, who was loving the dramatic irony.

After a brief pause, Gideon spoke again. "I tell ya, if I ever met that Bellwether… why, I'd look her straight in the eye and I'd say…"

There was a pause.

"…What?" asked Dawn.

Gideon just sighed. "Nah, it's dumb."

"I want to hear it," said Dawn.

Gideon looked unusually contemplative. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke. "I'd look at her and say, I don't know why you're such a hateful mammal, but… I feel sorry for you."

There was silence for a few moments.

"…What?"

"I know, pretty dumb, right?"

"Why would you feel sorry for m… her." Dawn silently cursed herself for almost blowing her cover. "Why do you feel sorry for her?"

"You see, uh…" Gideon said, a little embarrassed. "You wouldn't guess just by looking at me now, but… in my youth, I had a lot of anger and temperament issues. I was the only fox in a town full of bunnies. And… I pretty much bullied everyone. I was… I was a major jerk."

Gideon paused. He didn't enjoy talking about his past, but for some reason, it felt important to him that he got all of this out. He cleared his throat and continued. "And then one day, I realized somethin'. I realized... I wasn't happy. And from that day on, I went through a lot of therapy and I made an effort to change. Now, you look at someone like Bellwether, who does something so mean and hateful, and you gotta ask yourself… why? I mean, nobody is born with hate. Nobody hates for no reason."

He paused again, and then looked at Dawn. And when he saw the look on her face, he looked slightly bashful. "I'm sorry, did I talk for too long? Sorry about that, it happens sometimes…."

"Why do you assume that she's filled with hate?" Dawn asked, interrupting. "I mean, maybe she's just standing up for what she believes in."

"Well, I suppose…" Gideon said. "I mean, no one sees themself as evil."

Dawn's eyes went wide. " _Excuse me_?!"

Gideon shrugged. "I dunno, she probably thinks she's doing what's right for prey and all that." He looked at Dawn again. "You were right, before. When you said we don't know what goes on in her head. But I'll tell you what I do know, is that I have a very distinct memory, of when I was about 15 years old. I was looking at myself in the mirror and I had this… this realization, where I said to myself, 'I'm the bad guy'."

He closed his eyes, lost in thought, until finally he said, "I mean, who knows? Maybe one day, she'll have a moment like that."

Neither of them said a word for the longest time.

Dawn wanted to scream. She wanted to get right up into this fox's stupid face and tell him to shut up, that he has no right to judge her. It was taking every ounce of self control she had to remain calm.

"What's wrong?" Gideon asked.

Dawn took a deep breath. "I'm fine," she lied.

"Are you sure, because-"

"I said I'm fine!" In hindsight, Dawn realized that might have been a bit too loud.

After a few moments of tense silence, Gideon spoke up. "You know what," he said, "If you want to come by my shop again, I could give you a discount."

"What?" asked Dawn. "Why would you do that?"

Gideon sighed. "Because in my life, I try to make everybody happy. And I don't know exactly what it is that I said, but you seem really upset right now. So, I kinda figure I owe you."

Dawn somehow managed to pull herself together. "Well," she said. "Thank you for your generosity. Goodbye."

And as she turned around, she started walking. Slowly, at first. Then she started getting faster. Each step was more forceful than the last.

'Who the hell does that fox think he is?' Dawn thought to herself.

It was a huge relief when she looked over her shoulder and saw that he was gone.


	8. The Exception To The Rule

Chapter Eight: The Exception To The Rule

Author's Note: I want to share a bit of trivia with you. So, in the story, Dawn escapes prison a couple of days after Christmas, right? Well, when I first started writing the story, she escapes a couple of days _before_ Christmas. And because of this, the first couple of chapters all take place in the days leading up to Christmas Day.

Why did I change it? Well, it was for one simple reason – I realized that news of Dawn's escape had to go public for the story to work, but I found myself asking why the government wouldn't just wait until after Christmas to announce that a dangerous criminal has escaped prison.

Anyway, I have a bit of exciting news. I am proud to officially report that my story is going to be featured on ZNN! Yeah, I reached out to them, and they said it's going up on the site very soon. I'm very grateful for this opportunity, and I'll try my hardest to not let you down with the direction this story goes in.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

Dawn Bellwether couldn't think straight.

She was trying to make her way back to the motel, but she kept getting lost. She would walk in one direction for far too long and end up missing the turn, or she would make too many turns in a row and inevitably end up right back where she started. In one instance, she was almost hit by a passing car.

By the time Dawn got into her room, it had already gotten dark. She immediately went into the bathroom and turned on the showerhead.

Simply put, Dawn was in a bad mood.

She was grumpy because of the day's events. She was tired because she had spent the majority of the day walking, and her legs were fairly sore. And she was also hungry because she hadn't eaten anything since morning, and she wasn't about to go ask that fox for another pie. (Although a small part of her secretly wanted to.)

Dawn stuck out her hoof to test the temperature, and then, once she had removed all of her clothes, she got in.

She had thought that a nice shower would help take her mind off of things, but it wasn't working. She couldn't stop thinking about what Gideon had said… scratch that, what _the fox_ had said. There was no reason for her to use his name, even in her head.

What was so stupid about the whole thing was that there was no real reason why she should be getting so worked up about this. There was no reason she should have to listen to a predator, especially one that seemed to be so simple-minded.

So he used to be a bully. Big deal. That put him in the same club as every other predator on the planet, as far as Dawn was concerned. But he wanted to change his ways. That was different. And then he also said he felt sorry for her. Or at least, he felt sorry for Dawn Bellwether, he just had no idea about who he was really talking to.

Then again, maybe he _did_ know. Maybe the whole thing was an act. The most alarming clue to support this theory was that he had just randomly offered her a discount for no real reason other than she was upset. No predator was that nice!

So, that was it, then. It was all a lie. It seemed easy to accept on paper. But Dawn knew a thing or two about putting on a façade to appear as innocent as possible, and she wasn't entirely sure if that was what Gideon was doing. If he was really trying to appear too good to be true, then why did he admit to being a bully? And if he did start out as a bully, then why did everyone else in this town seem so comfortable around him?

Dawn didn't know what to think about him. Usually, with predators, she was able to get a grasp on them and figure out their strategies. But this fox was all over the map. And the craziest thing of all was that there were moments when he almost seemed kind of… genuine.

But then Dawn realized something. Even in the incredibly rare likelihood that this fox _was_ being genuine, what did that matter? He clearly had no idea who she really was. And ever since she got here, her plan had been focused 100% on getting revenge on Judy and Nick. This fox had absolutely nothing to do with her plan.

She just needed to stop thinking about the encounter with him, and everything would be fine.

…

Back at the Hopps warren, it was another family dinner like all the others. Nick was making small talk with Bonnie and Stu, who had really grown to care about him over the course of the past year, to the point where they were beginning to see him as one of the family. Judy was glad to see her parents throw aside their past prejudices and accept that she and Nick were in a serious relationship. It was nice to know that more and more mammals had adopted a more forward way of thinking.

Unfortunately, some mammals, like Bellwether, seemed intent on turning the world backward.

Throughout the day, Nick had tried various methods of distracting Judy, and some of them had been more affective than others, but she still couldn't stop thinking about Bellwether's escape.

Whenever Judy got the chance, she would check her emails, hoping that the chief would update her with more information, but he never did. Which meant that Bellwether was still out there. And as long as that sheep was at large, no one was safe.

"Judy, are you okay?"

Judy jumped at the voice, which belonged to her mother.

"Yeah…" Judy lied. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" her father asked. "You have a funny look on your face, is there a problem?

Neither of her parents paid attention to the news unless it was local to Bunnyburrow, so both of them missed the story about Bellwether's escape. And Judy didn't want to be the one to deliver the bad news. Nick had also remained silent at Judy's request. But now, he was awkwardly looking back and forth between Judy and her parents.

After a moment or two, Judy said, "I'm just… concerned about work, that's all."

"Oh, sweetie," said her mother, "I can't even begin to imagine how stressful your job must be. But remember, you're on vacation. You don't need to worry about that right now. This is your time off, enjoy it."

Just then, Stu's ears perked up. "Hey, that reminds me, I still need a few more supplies for the big New Years party that's coming up. Let's see here, I need some fireworks from Mrs. Hoggle, some cupcakes from Gid, and a few streamers from Flo's store…"

Judy stood up. "I can go run a few errands if you need me to."

"No, no." said her father. "That's fine. I can easily pick those things up in the morning…"

"Dad…" Judy looked her father directly in the eyes. "I really need a distraction right now. Do you understand?"

Truthfully, even though Stu didn't understand what was bothering her, it was fairly obvious that something was going on. He didn't want to ask her about it, though. He trusted his daughter to make her own decisions.

"Okay," he said. Then he turned to face Nick. "I think you should come with her."

Nick hesitated, but only for a moment. Then he sighed. "I think so, too."

And with that, Judy began walking towards the exit door, with Nick in tow.

…

Back at the motel, Dawn was talking to Doug on the phone.

"So you really overheard them having sex?" Doug asked, a bit too excitedly for Dawn's liking.

"Yes, I told you," she said, while rubbing her temples. "And trust me, I'm trying to forget it."

"Okay, so…" Doug sounded a bit confused. "What does this have to do with the plan?"

"Nothing," said Dawn. "And that's what makes this so frustrating. Because I just realized today I don't _have_ a plan."

On the other line, she heard Jesse's voice. "Hey boss, that's what I said before you left."

Dawn let out a sigh that was both annoyed and resigned. "And I guess I should have listened, Look, it's too risky for me to go back into Zootopia now. Everyone's looking for me. I think I'm just going to stay here for a while, at least until the heat dies down. And hey, feel free to let me know if either one of you comes up with a better plan."

"Nope."

"Nada."

"That's what I thought." In spite of her anger, there was a bit of a smirk on Dawn's face.

"Hey wait a minute," said Doug. "Something doesn't add up here. So you left the Hopps warren around the middle of the day, and you just decided to call us now? What were you doing the rest of the day?"

Dawn momentarily considered telling her partners in crime about her run in with Gideon, but she quickly dismissed that idea. She really did not want to talk about it.

"Oh, I was just walking around Bunnyburrow," she lied. "I thought maybe trying to get to know the town a little bit more could help me exploit it."

Luckily, Doug bought the lie. "Ah, I get it. So… is that all for today?"

Dawn looked at the clock on the bedside table. "Yeah, it is getting pretty late. All right, I'll call you tomorrow, bye."

"Good night, boss." her colleagues said.

After Dawn hung up, she caught herself thinking about how Doug and Jesse always called her 'Boss', and never by her first name. Of course, there was nothing wrong with that. After all, they worked for her. It was only respectful.

But for some reason, this was bothering her. And then, in a flash, she realized why.

Doug and Jesse were the only friends she currently had.

…

Judy had to admit, she was feeling a little better.

There was something almost magical about Bunnyburrow at night. There was a certain atmosphere to it, something that she had missed when she was living in the city. Despite everything that was going on, it really was nice to be back.

Judy and Nick had just picked up the fireworks and the streamers, and they just needed to pick up a few batches of cupcakes from Gideon. Despite the name, 'Gideon's Pie Shop' served a whole lot more than just pies. He made everything from cakes and cookies all the way to bread. And everything tasted delicious.

Being nocturnal allowed Gideon to keep his shop open late at night, even though he rarely had any customers around that time. But he was always very excited whenever someone would walk in just as he was about to close. And tonight turned out to be one of those nights.

"Judy! Nick! Nice to see you two again!"

"Good evening, Gideon," Judy said. "My dad asked me to pick up some cupcakes for the New Year's party."

Gideon chuckled. "I love your family, but I swear one of these days they're gonna drive me out of business. I think I should have some cupcakes in the freezer, just give me a minute."

Gideon walked into the back room, and moments later, he returned with several boxes filled with cupcakes.

"Thanks, Gideon," Judy was trying to sound happy, but her ears were beginning to droop. And Gideon took notice.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Judy shook her head. "No, I'm just upset about work, that's all."

Nick gave Judy as sympathetic look, before turning to Gideon. "I'm sure you heard the news about Bellwether."

"Ah," Gideon said, understanding. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it. You caught her once, you can catch her again."

Judy groaned. "That's the problem!" she said, a bit too loudly. "I should be doing something. I should be in Zootopia, looking for clues, doing my job!"

Nick tried to calm his partner down. "Judy, listen to me. You're off duty-"

"But Bellwether isn't!" Judy shouted.

There was silence. There was only one other customer in the shop at the moment, and he awkwardly got up and walked outside.

After a few moments, Gideon spoke up. "Look, I know that everybody is really freaked out about what happened. In fact, I was talking about it earlier today with your friend Felicity. She seemed pretty upset about the whole thing, but I told her it would be fine."

Judy blinked. "I'm sorry, who's Felicity?"

Gideon looked confused. "Oh, I thought you knew her. She said you were friends. She asked for the address of your warren when she first came into town."

Judy and Nick looked at each other, slightly apprehensive. "I don't know anyone with that name," she said. "What did she look like?"

Gideon tried to recall her in his memory. "Well, let's see here… she was a sheep, a pretty short one, too. She had these big, thick glasses, and her voice was a little high-pitched…"

With every word, the sense of dread in Judy's spine grew larger and larger. "Nick, you don't think…"

Nick shook his head. "It's gotta be a coincidence. There's no way Bellwether could have just waltzed right into BunnyBurrow without anyone noticing."

Upon hearing this, Gideon immediately shook his head. "No, Felicity's wool is black."

For a moment, Nick felt relieved, until Judy said, "But, she probably could have died her wool… right? I mean, if everything else was the same…"

"Did she say anything to you?" asked Nick.

Gideon thought about it. "Um, yeah. She bought one of my pies, and she asked me where you lived. And then I ran into her again the next day, and… oh." His ears drooped.

Judy's heart sank. "What? What happened?"

"She asked me if I was scared about Bellwether being out of prison. I told her I wasn't, and… and she said that I should be."

"Oh, that's her all right," Nick said solemnly.

The room went deathly quiet.

Gideon had always known that he wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but it was moments like these that made him feel especially dumb. Granted, he had only seen a couple of pictures of Bellwether back when the Night Howler conspiracy was in full swing, and that was years ago. Still, he felt like he should have been able to recognize her.

And he was starting to feel really weird about the things he said to her…

"So, it's true," Judy said, breaking the silence. "I knew it, Nick. She's in Bunnyburrow. That means she wants revenge."

"Now, hold on," Nick said, trying to calm down. "Let's think logically. We have a little bit of information, but that doesn't help us very much. We still have no idea where _in_ Bunnyburrow she is right now, or where she'll turn up next."

Judy sighed. That was a good point.

"Well, if it helps," Gideon chimed in, "there's a chance she might show up at my shop again."

Both Judy and Nick turned to look at Gideon in disbelief.

He tried to clarify. "I mean, she seemed to really like the pie she bought, and I gave her a discount… before I knew who she was, of course. I mean, it's always possible she might come back."

"Okay, okay, let me think," said Judy. She got up and started pacing around the shop. Then she turned to face Gideon. "Okay, here's the plan. If she shows up at your shop again, I need you to call us immediately, okay?"

Gideon smiled. He was always happy to help, and getting to aid in police activity sounded like fun. "Sure, but what if she tries to leave?"

"Don't let her." Judy said simply. "In fact, don't let her know we're coming. When you call us, just tell her you're gong into the back to get something special for her… or something like that. And then insist that she stay."

Now, Gideon was a fairly simple fox. He understood the instructions fairly well, and he was always eager to help a friend. He even knew that Bellwether deserved to go to prison, and that her cheerful demeanor as 'Felicity' had all been an act. And yet, in spite of all that, there was still one tiny part of the plan that he wasn't completely comfortable with.

"…You want me to lie?"

Nick stared at the other fox blankly for a few seconds, then he said, "Gideon. Pal. Buddy. We are literally talking about one of the most dangerous criminals currently alive right now. It is so important, for the safety of mammals everywhere, that Dawn Bellwether is caught and thrown back into that prison. Well, maybe not thrown, that would probably hurt. Don't think about that. My point is, a little white lie is completely harmless given that we'd be doing the whole world a favor."

"Well, yeah, I understand that, I just… I just don't like lying. I'm not even that good at it…" Gideon momentarily seemed to be very nervous. "But don't worry, I can do it."

"Great," said Judy. "Meanwhile, I'll contact Bogo and keep him updated. With Bellwether here, we might need to call for backup."

"Well, wait," said Nick. "We also need to have a plan ready in case Former Mayor Smellwether decides _not_ to get another pie."

"Good point" said Judy. "So maybe we should ask all the neighboring relatives if they've seen a small black ewe that goes by Felicity. Nick, we have to find more evidence!"

Judy started to smile in spite of herself. Even though she had originally wanted a nice vacation, Judy just loved the thrill of solving a good case. She couldn't help it, it was in her blood. And knowing what was at stake made her even more determined. She needed to do everything in her power to find Dawn Bellwether and stop her, otherwise predators everywhere would be at risk.

Nick, meanwhile, was not too thrilled to be dragged away from his vacation too early. Obviously, he knew that there was a lot at stake. And he did genuinely enjoy being a cop, just not to the same extent that Judy did. But he had to admit, his life had gotten a whole lot better ever since Judy came into it. Nick was very grateful for everything he had. He just hoped Bellwether was caught soon so that he and his girlfriend could go right back into vacation mode.

"Um… guys?" Gideon said, snapping both officers out of their respective trains of thought.

"What?"

"Didn't you two originally come in here for cupcakes?"

"Ooh, right!" Judy exclaimed. She gave Gideon the money and took the cupcakes. And after they said their goodbyes to Gideon, the two of them turned to leave door.

"Hey, Nick…" Judy said as they were walking away. "Can you believe our luck?"

Nick was confused. "Luck?"

"We are going to be doing our civic duty as officers, putting Dawn Bellwether in prison. And we're going to do it without ever leaving our lovely vacation spot."

"You know, I didn't think about it that way, but you're right. In fact, you could say… we get to have our cake and eat it too."

"…That was awful, Nick."

"I know."


	9. Setting The Trap

Chapter Nine: Setting The Trap

Author's Note: This chapter was tricky. Basically, I had to write a conversation where both speakers are hiding something. It took a while, but I'm finally happy with the way this chapter turned out.

So, there's one thing I want to make clear before I go any further. The plan is for _A New Dawn_ to be novel-length, much longer than _Z-Harmony_. When developing the story, I was focusing on how to structure the plot, and that included adhering to the classic three-act structure.

What I'm trying to say is, this chapter officially marks the end of Act One.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

When Dawn woke up the next morning, her first thought was that today would be a horrible day.

She knew she needed to figure out some sort of plan going forward, but she found it so difficult to think. All that time in prison had taken it's toll on her, and she wasn't as good at strategizing as she once was. And now, she had thrust herself into a dangerous situation with no real plan. It was a small miracle that she had remained undetected so far.

As she applied her makeup, she tried to shake off the gut feeling she had that something was wrong. It was probably just stress. She was a wanted mammal, after all. Or maybe she was starting to get a cold. Come to think of it, it was flu season.

Or maybe she was just hungry.

In Bunnyburrow, nobody ever went hungry for very long. It was a farming community after all, and everyone was always happy to share their food with one another. Dawn supposed she could try to befriend a local rabbit family, but it seemed a bit too risky. Still, there were always a few bakeries or stalls in the area she could try.

Yes, it was completely possible for her to get a decent meal without having to see that fox again.

But then again, her cash wouldn't last forever, and the fox had offered her a discount. She could always go in, order something, and leave. There was no reason to engage in small talk.

Or maybe she could try and meet some of the _prey_ bakers in this town, and possibly even figure out where they stood on predators. In a time like this, having another ally could be a big help.

However, there were a lot of prey mammals who hated her, too. She didn't want to risk being recognized. At least that fox clearly had no idea who she really was.

After a little internal debate, Dawn reached into her purse, trying to find a coin to flip.

…

Judy knocked on the door to the spare bedroom. "Nick, come on. It's time to wake up."

While Judy's parents had graciously allowed Nick to sleep in the guest bedroom, they apparently were a little uncomfortable with the idea of Judy sharing the bed with him. Therefore, they had arranged for Judy to sleep in her old bed, in a room surrounded with several of her siblings. While it was admittedly a little nostalgic, Judy didn't particularly care for the sleeping arrangement.

After a few more knocks, Judy gave up and opened the door. Nick was still in bed, but after a few moments, he groggily opened his eyes, staring at Judy with a slightly dumb smile on his face.

She was tempted to run right over there and start furiously making out with him, but she managed to keep her composure. "So, I heard back from Bogo this morning."

Nick yawned. "Good for you," he remarked, still half-asleep. "What did he say?"

"He's sending backup. Snarlof and Wolford are both on a train to Bunnyburrow as we speak."

"So…" Nick twiddled his thumbs. "We are officially not on vacation anymore."

"Well, if everything goes according to plan," Judy said with a smile, "We might be able to catch Bellwether before the new year begins."

Nick smiled and shook his head. "Your optimism astounds me, Carrots."

Judy smirked. "Admit it, it's one of the things you love about me."

Nick had to admit, he couldn't argue with that.

…

For Gideon, it was another busy day at the shop.

Every customer was different. Outside of their species, they all had wildly different personalities. Some of them were having good days, some of them were having bad days. But by the time they left the shop, each customer was feeling just a little bit better.

Back when Gideon was naming the store, he was considering having a slogan. There would have been text below the sign that read, "You'll Walk In Hungry, You'll Walk Out Satisfied." Gideon had liked the slogan until a friend of his told him that it sounded vaguely dirty, and the slogan was dropped.

Still, Gideon always enjoyed putting a smile on the faces of his customers. And it was nice to know that after all this time, many of them had forgiven him for the way he behaved in his youth.

He liked almost everyone, and almost everyone liked him. It was a simple life, but it worked.

Gideon's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of a bell chiming. He turned around, ready to face the new customer…

It was her.

Dawn Bellwether, one of the most wanted mammals in the world, was in his shop. She had on the same black makeup from earlier, and it was extremely convincing. Even knowing who she was, it was hard for him to associate everything he had heard about Bellwether with this innocent-looking ewe.

There were a few bunnies in front of her in line, so she was patiently waiting her turn, taking in the sights. It looked like she was surprised by how many customers showed up to the humble little pastry shop.

As Gideon served the next few customers, he felt a sense of dread. It wasn't that he was scared of her, even though he probably should have been. He was more scared of being found out. As he had said the night before, he wasn't very good at lying.

In no time at all, Dawn was at the front of the line.

Gideon was starting to sweat. For this to work, he would really have to fool her, otherwise she would get suspicious and leave. He would have to pretend like she was just that same sweet little ewe he originally thought she was.

He took a deep breath.

"Felicity! What a nice surprise."

Dawn noticed that something seemed a little off about the fox today, but she didn't want to bring it up, for fear of being trapped in a long conversation. So she just put on a phony smile and said, "Hi, Gideon. It's nice to see you again."

"I have to admit," Gideon remarked. "I'm a little surprised. I didn't think you would be back so soon."

"To be perfectly honest, I didn't either."

There was an awkward moment between the two of them. Gideon envied the other customers in the shop, who didn't have a clue what was really going on.

"So, uh…" Gideon said. "Let's just cut to the chase. What do you want? I've got a lot of pies available today."

Dawn looked at the menu, which was a little more expansive than she had assumed it would be. "Hmm… I really enjoyed the pecan, but… I think I'll try the rhubarb this time."

Gideon slowly nodded his head. "Rhubarb. Excellent choice. I'll go get it. Won't even be a minute. You wait right here, madam. Don't move." And with that, he went into the kitchen.

"…I wasn't going to," Dawn said, a little awkwardly.

'Wow', she thought to herself. 'This fox has no social skills.'

…

Gideon picked up the phone and dialed the number as fast as he could. After a few rings, Judy picked up.

"Hello?"

"Judy, it's me," Gideon said, with a sense of urgency in his voice.

"Gideon?" Judy sounded confused. "What's the problem?"

"She's here. Bellwether. She's in my shop."

A few moments passed. "…You're kidding. All right, we're on our way. I called for backup, so there will be other cops. Just make sure she doesn't leave. We'll be right over."

And before Gideon could get another word in, Judy hung up on him.

So Gideon just waited.

And waited. And waited.

Eventually, he opened the door and poked his head out. He saw that Dawn was getting a little impatient.

She looked up and saw him. "If there's a waiting list, I can come back."

"No, that won't be necessary, mam..." Gideon began to walk backwards into the kitchen, trying very hard to keep his composure. "Everything's fine. I'm just having a little trouble with the oven, that's all…" But he wasn't looking where he was going, and before he could get completely behind the door, he tripped. He fell backwards and hit his head. And then, as if to humiliate him further, a large bag of flour fell off a shelf and emptied out all over him.

Dawn couldn't help herself. She burst out laughing. A few other customers turned to see what all the fuss was about, and when they saw Gideon covered in flour, they started laughing too. Gideon, who was pretty embarrassed by this point, stood up and ran into the kitchen, forgetting to close the door.

As for Dawn, her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. She walked around the counter and peered into the kitchen. Gideon was over by the sink, trying to wash the flour off.

Dawn cleared her throat. "Um... is everything all right?"

Gideon turned around, and he looked a bit startled to see her. "You're not supposed to be in here," he said quickly.

Hearing that, Dawn chuckled. "What, are there government secrets in here?"

"…Huh?" Gideon asked, still a bit befuddled. "...Who would hide government secrets in a kitchen?"

"You'd be surprised," Dawn said with a smile.

She looked around the kitchen, For such a small, urban area, the kitchen in Gideon's shop was a bit fancier than she was expecting. While she still wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Gideon, one thing was for sure; he took his cooking very seriously.

After a moment or two, Gideon said, "So… why did you come back here?"

"I wanted to see how my pie was doing."

Truthfully, Dawn didn't know why she had come back into the kitchen. She had wanted to check on her food, yes, but she was also a little concerned about the fall he just took. It didn't look like it was anything serious, but still. When somebody takes a fall like that-

'Wait', thought Dawn, 'Did I just think of a predator as _somebody_? Wow, I don't know what's gotten into me today...'

Dawn was brought back to reality by the sound of Gideon's voice. "I've got your pie in the fridge still. My apologies, mam. I got distracted."

"That's all right," said Dawn.

Gideon was starting to sweat. He knew that Judy, Nick and the other cops would be here any minute now, and he really didn't want to have to say, 'you just missed her.' But at the same time, he was concerned about how to keep Dawn in the building.

It occurred to him that Dawn was physically weaker than him, so he could very easily just grab hold of her and not let go until the police arrived.

But he really, really didn't want to have to do that.

He knew that Dawn Bellwether was a dangerous criminal, and she probably deserved it, but Gideon had come a long way since his bullying days, and he didn't want to resort to his old tricks.

As he reached inside the refrigerator and grabbed a rhubarb pie, an idea came to him. He dropped the pie on purpose.

"Oops," he said. "Clumsy me."

Dawn took a few steps closer to the pie. "It still should be fine, right?" she asked. "I mean, it landed right side up."

"Yeah, but…" Gideon tried to think of an excuse. "The way it fell, it must be all messed up inside."

Dawn shrugged. "I'm sure it still tastes fine…"

She reached over to the pie at the same moment Gideon reached over to pick it up. For a fraction of a second, his paw was touching her hoof, and almost immediately Dawn pulled her hoof away. Her movement was rapid, as if she had just touched something boiling hot.

After a few moments, Gideon picked up the pie. "Are you all right, mam?"

"It's nothing," Dawn said a little too quickly.

But Gideon picked up on her body language. "Do you just… not like to be touched?" he asked. "Cause I get it, if that's what it is."

Dawn tried to shrug it off. "No, it's… It's a little more complicated than that. Anyway, as I was saying-"

Gideon's eyes became wider. "Or wait… do you not like being touched by _predators?_ "

There was a long pause.

Dawn struggled to think of a response, either a witty one or a defensive one. But for the life of her, she couldn't think of anything to say.

It was Gideon who finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. And... I'm not angry at you or anything."

For a brief moment, he meant what he said. But then he remembered who she really was, and that this was not someone he should feel any sympathy towards. But given her reaction when he touched her, Gideon couldn't help but wonder…

And then he heard it. The distant, but unmistakable sound of a police siren.

And judging by the look on Dawn's face, she heard it, too.

"You know what," Dawn said, quickly. "I don't really need the pie. I just remembered I have an important errand to run."

"I'm sorry."

The words came out of Gideon's mouth before he could stop them.

Dawn blinked. "Sorry for what?"

Gideon hesitated before confessing, "I called the cops."

Dawn stared at him, confused. "What? Why would you do that?"

"...Because I know you're Bellwether."

Dawn suddenly became very silent.

There weren't many things in life that Gideon Grey considered himself to be good at, but one of them was reading faces. After all, there was a point in time when he had been taking extensive therapy, and it was something he had learned all about. But even he had to admit, Dawn's current facial expression was rather difficult to read. Her face contained an impressive multitude of emotions, the most prominent one being shock. But there was also a little fear in there, too. And anger.

But at least all of those emotions made sense given the circumstances. Because there was one emotion on her face that he was very surprised to see, one that Dawn herself was very surprised to feel.

Betrayal.

After a few moments, Dawn instantly snapped out of it and ran out of the kitchen. The other customers, who weren't used to hearing police sirens in BunnyBurrow, were all running outside to see what all the fuss was about.

Dawn couldn't even think straight. The police were coming right for her, what could she do? She definitely couldn't leave out the front door, they'd spot her for sure. She supposed she could hide in a cupboard or even the fridge… no, that wouldn't work. Because the stupid fox would just rat her out.

The police sirens kept getting louder and louder, and it was beginning to sound like more than one vehicle. Dawn was very afraid, but she didn't want to show her fear. She didn't want to give the stupid fox the satisfaction.

After a few seconds, the stupid fox in question spoke up. "It's nothing personal. I'm just doing my civic duty-"

"SHUT UP!" Dawn yelled, in a way that sounded unnatural coming from a mammal of her size.

And then she turned to face him, with a fiery red anger in her eyes. Gideon was starting to feel afraid.

"You know what, this is all my fault!" she yelled. "Because for a split second, I was actually starting to think I could trust you. Stupid Dawn! Stupid!"

While this was happening, Gideon was just standing back and watching. It wasn't a pretty sight.

"I should have known something was wrong when you offered me a discount for no reason!" Dawn shouted. "It was all a stupid trap to get me to come here, wasn't it!?"

"Hey, wait a minute," Gideon said, defending himself. "I didn't know, I swear-"

"Shut up!" Dawn yelled again.

At that moment, the front door opened. And there, standing outside, was a large white wolf. He walked into the shop, slowly, looking down at Dawn. He was followed by another officer, a polar bear that Dawn recognized from her first arrest. In fact, this whole experience was giving her a massive sense of déjà vu.

Dawn turned around and ran into the kitchen, hoping there might be a back exit. But alas, there wasn't.

She looked back into the main room of the shop, where the two cops were closing in on her. With every small, panicking breath she took, she tried to see if she could find a way out. Any way out.

And now, two more cops entered the building.

And these two, Dawn definitely recognized.

"Judy…" she said slowly, with a fake smile on her face. "And Nick. Wow, I haven't seen you two in forever, what a nice surprise…"

But Judy wasn't taking any of it. "Dawn Bellwether, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

Dawn looked around one last time. As much as she hated to admit it, there was simply no way out of this situation. Even if she tried to make a run for it, she would never be able to outrun a wolf or a bear. And she had no intention of being manhandled by predators.

So she took a deep breath and said, "Very well. I surrender."

She put her hooves in the air. And a few seconds later, she was in cuffs.

While the two larger cops began to escort Dawn out of the shop, Judy looked up at her partner. "Well, that was… easy."

Nick grinned. "I dare even call it anticlimactic."

Judy chuckled and looked at Gideon. "Thanks again for helping us out."

"Any time," Gideon said, putting on a smile. But truthfully, something still felt a little bit off to him.

After a friendly wave, Judy and Nick went back to the other two cops. Judy was thanking them for coming on such short notice. Nick was trying his best to be seen with the other cops, trying to make sure everyone knew that he helped arrest Dawn Bellwether, even though he really hadn't contributed very much.

As for Dawn herself, her face remained very stoic. She didn't look at the cops who were escorting her. She didn't look at the small crowd of mammals who had gathered to watch the scene unfold. And she certainly wasn't going to look back at Gideon.

Because even as the others were celebrating, as some members of the crowd were literally cheering watching her arrest, there was one thing that Dawn Bellwether knew beyond any fraction of a doubt.

This was not over yet. Not by a long shot.


	10. Foiled Again

Chapter Ten: Foiled Again

Author's Note: Okay, so let me make one thing perfectly clear - the new chapter of Z-Harmony _will_ be coming out this week. I've been doing a lot of work on it. I know that you guys have been waiting a long time, and I want to make sure it's as good as it can be.

But even though that story is wrapping up soon, _this_ story is just getting started.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

"Breaking news from ZNN."

"Well, we have some very good news for you today. Yesterday morning, we reported that former mayor Dawn Bellwether had escaped from prison. Well, today we are happy to tell you that she has been caught and is currently in police custody."

"Yes, apparently the former mayor was in BunnyBurrow. Police believe she was planning on seeking some sort of revenge on officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, who initially arrested her two years ago.

"Did I hear that right, Peter? She got out of prison and her first move was to go directly to the two cops who apprehended her in the first place? Not exactly a stellar plan."

"Well, according to the police, Bellwether had dyed her wool black in an attempt to disguise herself. It must not have been very effective, because officers Hopps and Wilde were tipped off by a BunnyBurrow resident who wishes to remain anonymous."

We'll have more information as the story breaks, but for now, I think both predators and prey can celebrate knowing that Dawn Bellwether is behind bars once again. And hopefully this time, it will be for good."

…

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Jesse!" Doug yelled. "You're gonna break the TV!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Jesse shouted in response.

The TV that Doug and Jesse had in their hideout was a stolen set, and not a particularly good one. And considering the fact that Jesse was currently trying to pull it out from the wall in sheer rage, it certainly wasn't helping.

While this was going on, Doug was sitting on the couch. He was also incredibly angry, but he was keeping all his anger inside.

"Are you done?" asked Doug.

Jesse laughed. "Not by a long shot."

Doug sighed. "Look, we can't give up."

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do?" Jesse asked incrediously.

"Easy," said Doug. "We break her out again and we come up with a different plan."

Jesse stared at Doug in disbelief. "Just break her out again, like it's that simple?" He snorted. "Doug, this isn't some video game where you can keep trying the same thing over and over again!"

After a few moments, Doug stood up. "You know what went wrong?" he asked. "It was the boss' plan. After two years in prison, her mind's gotten a little hazy." He started to pace around the room. "She's not as good at planning as she once was. And I understand it. Under the circumstances, it makes sense. But just take a look at what happened. She strolled right into BunnyBurrow with no plan and she got herself caught. Big surprise."

There was a pause, and then Jesse started talking. "So, wait a minute…" he said slowly. "Let's assume for a moment that there is gonna be a 'next time.' If that happens, what do we do differently?"

"Simple," Doug said. "We don't let her come up with the plan. We come up with a plan by ourselves."

Jesse looked very confused. "We?"

Doug nodded his head. "Well, I should probably clarify. When I say 'we' I mean 'me'. Obviously." A smile started to appear on his face as he looked at Jesse.

"And for the record," Doug continued, "This is not a hypothetical situation. There is going to be a 'next time'. Trust me on that."

…

Dawn felt miserable.

She had escaped from prison less than a week ago. She still remembered that feeling of the cool breeze on her wool. It had felt so right to be out. She had felt so happy.

How had her plan fallen apart so quickly?

Dawn had asked herself this question many times during her little 'ride' in the back of the police car. And the worst thing was, the answer was obvious. She knew exactly what she had done wrong.

She had trusted a predator.

It had seemed like such a small thing at the time. That stupid, overweight, ugly fox had offered her a discount. And like an idiot, she had bought it.

Two years ago, when she had started her great Night Howler conspiracy, at no point in that plan did she ever trust a predator. If she had, the entire plan would have gone downhill.

Now she was being tossed right back into prison. She didn't know if she would ever get out again. She didn't know what Doug and Jesse would do.

There was only one thing she knew with absolute certainty; She was never going to trust a predator again.

…

Gideon couldn't remember the last time he had seen a crowd this big.

There were mammals lining up in the streets. Most of them were bunnies, but a few other species were sprinkled in there.

The word was spreading very fast that Dawn Bellwether had been arrested, and that it happened right here in Bunnyburrow. And a few mammals had already figured out that it happened in Gideon Grey's pie shop.

At first, Gideon tried to get back to work serving customers. But nobody who came in wanted food, they all wanted information. They all wanted to know how the arrest went down. And many of them were asking what exactly his role was in all of this.

And when Gideon started to see reporters showing up at his door, that was when he decided to close the shop for the day.

He had never been a big fan of crowds, and it was a little overwhelming for him to be getting this kind of attention. Especially considering the fact that, no matter how hard he tried not to, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Dawn Bellwether.

It was weird, because he had only had three conversations with her, and she was technically playing a part. He barely knew the 'real' her.

Or did he?

He remembered the look on her face when he said he felt sorry for Bellwether. In hindsight, it should have been obvious that 'Felicity' and Bellwether were one and the same. He remembered seeing real emotion in her eyes. At the time, he didn't really understand it. But looking back, it was clear that his words were getting to her.

But what did it matter now? Right now, she was on her way to prison, where she belonged. There was no point in thinking about her any more.

But as he closed up the shop, he noticed something shining underneath one of the tables. He knelt down to get a closer look and saw that it was a cellphone.

He recognized that it wasn't his own, so he rationalized that someone must have left it in his shop before it closed. As he pressed the home button, the lock screen came up.

It was a picture of Judy and Nick, sitting on a deck chair at the beach, looking lovingly into one another's eyes.

Gideon was looking at the photo, secretly envying the two of them, when he realized something. Either the phone actually belonged to one of them, or it belonged to a Bunnyburrow resident who was way too invested in their relationship.

Gideon rationalized that the former option was more likely, and then his eyes went wide when he realized that both Judy and Nick were currently traveling to Zootopia.

For Gideon, the decision process was fairly easy. When you see a phone and you know who it belongs to, the polite thing to do is return it to its rightful owner. And considering the fact that his shop was going to be closed for the day, Gideon supposed it couldn't hurt to take a little field trip for the day in order to do a good deed.

Besides, it would get his mind off of more troubling things.

…

From what Dawn was able to overhear, she would be put in a holding cell at the ZPD for the night, Apparently, a decision was being still made about which jail to put her in.

For the time being, she was taken into a room where she was hosed off. The first time she was arrested, she hated this part and screamed the whole time. Now, she stayed silent, even as the black makeup on her wool began to wash away. And when it was over, the guards provided her with an orange jumpsuit.

While all of this was going on, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde changed into their police uniforms. They hadn't had time to change when they had initially gotten the call, and it had felt very strange for them to make an arrest while wearing casual outfits, but at least now, they could face their criminal the old fashioned way.

Dawn was then brought into an interrogation room.

For a moment, she was in complete darkness. Then… click!

She blinked rapidly as everything went white, and when she could finally see again, she was not very happy with what she saw.

Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. The two mammals she had been so eager to find. Dawn had always heard the phrase, 'Be careful what you wish for,' but she had never really taken it to heart until today.

She put on a happy face, reminiscent of the charade she had used during the Night Howler crisis. "You know, it is lovely to see you two again," Dawn lied.

Nick scowled. "Cut the crap, Bellwether."

"Nick, language…" Judy whispered to her partner.

Nick laughed. "If she can make the entire city miserable, than I can swear."

"Oh, I think that's a bit of an exaggeration," Dawn said. "I didn't make _everybody_ 's lives miserable. Just the preds. But they had it coming."

Nick suddenly bore his teeth. "You wanna say that to my face?"

Dawn smirked. "I just did."

"Nick, sit down," Judy said, firmly. Then she turned to face Dawn. "I think you're very much aware of the fact that you hurt more than just predators. Prey mammals all over the city were living in fear."

"But they weren't afraid of _me_." Dawn said, simply. "All I did was open their eyes to something they should have already been afraid of."

After a moment, Judy narrowed her eyes. "You're a psychopath."

At the mention of that word, Dawn actually started laughing. "Psychopath? You think I'm a psychopath?" The laughter died down, and then she stared at Judy, looking deadly serious. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't the one who willingly allowed a predator to _bite my neck_!"

Nick got up and looked at Judy. "We're wasting our time. Let's go."

But Dawn decided she wanted to have a little fun with the two cops. "Then again, I suppose I shouldn't judge," she continued. "After all, Judy... you let him do much worse than bite your neck, don't you?"

Judy raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Dawn tried to make her face look as innocent as possible. "Let's just say that I did a little spying on you and your fox boyfriend when we were all in BunnyBurrow. I had hoped on getting some intel, something I could use. But all I heard... was moaning. Lots and lots of moaning."

Judy's ears stood on end. Nick's eyes went very wide. And approximately one second later, Nick got up and started walking in the other direction. "That's it. We're done here. Come on, Carrots."

Dawn laughed. " _Carrots_ , seriously? Wow, that nickname isn't demeaning at all."

Judy scowled. "I don't remember asking your opinion! And for the record, I have no problem with him calling me that."

"Are you sure he's not just looking down on you?" Dawn asked. "Just like how _all_ predators look down on prey?"

"What is wrong with you?!" Judy yelled. "You have no right to insult Nick! You don't know him!"

Dawn was quiet for a few moments, then she looked at Judy and gave her a very thin smile. "Do you remember the time when you and your fox asked me for my help, so I took you into that janitor's closet, which was Lionhart's miserable excuse for an office?" She leaned in closer. "Do you remember how that fox of yours decided he wanted to touch the wool on the top of my head? Repeatedly, even after you told him to stop? Do you remember how you thought I didn't feel it? Well guess what, _I felt it_. And believe me, it took every ounce of self-control I had to keep my composure."

Nick spoke up. "You know, if it really bothered you that much, you could have just told me! I would have stopped!"

But Dawn just chuckled. "Oh sure, that's easy to say _now_. Knowing you, it's more likely you would have found some other body part to poke at with your disgusting claws."

Judy cleared her throat. "I think we can both agree this conversation is not going anywhere. Good day, Miss Bellwether."

And with that, the two cops turned around to leave, but Dawn still had one more thing she wanted to say.

"You know Judy, you and I aren't as different as you like to believe."

Nick walked on. Judy wanted to keep walking, but something made her stop.

"Think about it," Dawn said. "We're both small prey mammals. We were both born and raised in a small town outside of Zootopia. Both of us had dreams to rise above the expectations of our species. Both of us were downtrodden, even bullied, but we didn't let that stop us. Because we devoted our entire life to overcome our stereotypes and make the world a better place… although I feel your definition of a better place might be different than mine."

Judy wanted to say something but she couldn't think of the right words. Nick stood outside the door, looking in.

"It's a shame, Judy," Dawn continued. "We really could have been friends."

After a long pause, Judy turned back to look at Dawn. "Yeah. We could have been."

And with that, Judy walked away, leaving Dawn alone in the interrogation room.


	11. Cut The Act

Chapter Eleven: Cut The Act

Author's Note: I'm so excited that you guys enjoyed the (long overdue) Chapter 12 of _Z-Harmony_. I'm going to try to get the final chapter up sometime this week.

As for _this_ story, I really hope that you guys are enjoying it. Trust me when I say there's plenty of exciting twists and turns in store.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

Judy followed Nick into the break room, unable to concentrate. She was so lost in thought, she was a bit startled when

Nick cleared his throat, which made Judy twitch a little bit. "Um... are you okay?" Nick asked. "You seem kind of tense."

Judy tried her best to brush it off. "Oh, don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Nick didn't really believe that, but he nodded and moved on. "So... I'd say this was quite an eventful day. So, I think we should start filling out the report. The sooner we get that done, the sooner we can get back to enjoying our time off."

Suddenly, Judy's ears stood on end. "Sweet cheese and crackers! I just realized my parents don't even know about this!"

"I'm sure they'll hear about it eventually," Nick said. "And even if they don't, I'm not sure it matters. They don't need to start worrying about you for no reason."

"Well, they already are, Nick." Judy said incredulously. "Because we left Bunnyburrow and they have no idea where we are."

Nick's eyes widened in realization. "Okay, well… that is a problem."

Judy reached into her pocket, but a few seconds later, her ears drooped. "Shoot, where's my phone?"

Nick shrugged. "Don't ask me."

Judy checked her other pockets, but to no avail. "Well, this is just great. I don't suppose you have my parents' numbers?"

"Unfortunately, no." Nick said. "I don't think your parents and I have reached that point yet."

Judy was just about to give him an eye roll when suddenly there was a pager on her police radio. Upon picking it up, she heard a familiar voice.

"Paging Officer Hopps, this is Clawhauser. I've got a guy at the front desk who says he has your phone."

"On my way," Judy said. She straightened her outfit a bit and started walking down to the front desk. Nick followed her.

While she was walking down the hallway, Judy realized what must have happened. Evidently, her phone must have gone flying out of her pocket at some point during Bellwether's arrest, and in all the commotion she had forgotten about it.

Still, she was expecting to see Wolford or Snarlof at the front desk with her phone. But when she turned the corner and saw who it was, she was more than a little surprised.

"Gideon?!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Returning your phone," Gideon said, matter-of-factly. "I noticed it when I was cleaning up the shop, and I figured you would want it back."

"You came all the way here just to return my phone?" Judy asked in disbelief.

Gideon shrugged. "It was the right thing to do," he said. And after a moment, he read the look on Judy's face and decided she deserved to know the full reason. "Plus, I… uh… I was feeling a bit overwhelmed when all the reporters started showing up, so…"

"Reporters?" Judy asked, confused.

"Yeah," said Gideon. "Everybody heard that I was… involved in Bellwether being arrested and all, so… they were asking me questions. So many mammals were entering my shop, but none of them wanted something to eat." He gave a weak smile, then sighed. "I dunno, I guess... I guess I just wanted to get away from it all, and then I saw your phone, and that gave me a good excuse. I bought a train ticket and I came right over."

He handed the phone back to Judy. She took it, but before she called her parents she decided to ask him one more question.

"Gideon… is this your first time in Zootopia?"

Gideon shook his head. "No, I've gone up here a couple of times already. You see, uh… last year, I tried to reach out my catering business… you know, to make a little more money on the side, and, you know… that's led me to Zootopia. Of course, I haven't been on the grand tour or nothin', but I have seen the city a couple of times."

"Huh…" Judy said.

For a moment, nobody said anything. Clawhauser, who had been silent for most of the conversation, ultimately decided to break the silence. "Well, the next time you're in the city, let me know. I for one would love to taste one of these famous pies I've heard so much about."

"Famous?" Gideon asked with one eyebrow raised.

Judy shrugged. "Well, I've mentioned them once or twice."

Gideon smiled. "Nice, I'll take it. Anyhow, I should probably be getting back."

"Wait," Nick said. "Judy and I are coming back too, to enjoy the rest of our well earned vacation after it was so rudely interrupted. We just need to fill out a couple of forms before we can go. Maybe we can take the train with you."

"That's a good idea," Gideon said with a smile. "I imagine you got a lot of paperwork, now that Bellwether is in jail."

"Well technically, she's not in jail yet," Judy clarified. "She's in a holding cell at the station. We'll keep her there for the night, or however long it takes to find a proper jail. The one she escaped from still has a giant hole in it, if you can believe that."

"Wait…" Gideon said slowly. "You mean she's here in this building right now?" He seemed a little nervous.

Judy nodded. "Yes, she's here. But she's locked up and under tight security. You don't need to be afraid."

Gideon shook his head. "Oh... I'm not afraid."

Nick spoke up. "Look, it really doesn't matter. Carrots, let's just get the report done so we can go."

"Um, actually… if she's in a holding cell, then, uh…" Gideon was starting to stutter a bit, He didn't really seem scared, just nervous. But it was a different kind of nervous than he probably should have felt. "This is gonna sound really stupid, but I was wondering…"

He tried to find the right words in order to make his request sound reasonably sane. After a moment, Nick's eyes widened. "Wait a minute… do you want to _talk_ to her?"

"Look, Gideon," said Judy. "I know you try to see the good in everybody, but she is a psychopath and whatever you have to say, she's not going to listen."

"That's what I figured, it's just…" Gideon sighed, looking helplessly confused. "Look, before I knew who she really was, I said some things to her that I probably shouldn't have. And now, I kinda feel like I want some… closure. Does that make any sense?"

After a few moments, Nick shrugged. "Fine. If you want to talk to her while we're filling out our paperwork, I won't stop you. I just don't think it's a very good idea, that's all. What do you think, Carrots?"

Judy sighed. "I mean, I guess it can't hurt, right?" She turned to Clawhauser and said, "Can you escort him to the holding cell where Bellwether is?"

"Um, okay…" Clawhauser said, getting up. "But I'm not going in there with you. She gives me the creeps."

"I guess that's fair," Gideon said. And with that, the two mammals began to walk in the direction of the holding cell.

…

"There it is," Clawhauser said nervously. "Just around this corner. I still don't think this is a good idea, but I'm not gonna stop you."

Gideon took a deep breath and walked further ahead, while Clawhauser stayed put.

As Gideon turned the corner, he saw her. She was in a small prison cell that was about the size of the bathroom in his house. She was lying on the bed, facing away from him.

The guards who were surrounding the cell realized that this was most likely a private conversation, and they politely took a few steps back while still watching the cell. Either way, they weren't making Gideon feel any less nervous. He stepped up to her cell and gently knocked a few times on the bars.

"Go away," she said without looking.

"It's me," Gideon said.

Dawn turned around, and there was a genuine look of shock on her face when she saw who it was. Immediately followed by a look of intense rage.

"You…" she growled. "What the hell are you doing here? Have you come to gloat?"

"Actually, mam," Gideon cleared his throat. "I came to apologize."

Her eyes widened. "Apologize?" After a moment, she started to laugh. "I don't know who you are, and I don't really care, but I am not going to fall for your 'goody-two shoes' act a second time. Hell, I'm shocked I actually fell for it the first time."

"Listen… when I gave you that discount, I honestly didn't know who you were. I didn't find out until later that night when Judy and Nick came into my shop. I started talking about the conversation we had and they were able to figure out it was you. And they said I should call them immediately if you ever came into my shop again."

Dawn mulled that over for a few moments before saying, "Well, even if that is true, it doesn't change anything."

"I didn't want to lie to you," Gideon confessed. "I don't like lying to anybody. And when I told you that I called the police, I could see that you were upset. And I… I don't know why I feel so… so strongly about it, but I am not a lying jerk. And I don't want you to think that about me for the rest of your life."

"Whatever you say," Dawn said, uninterested.

Truthfully, Gideon wished he had gotten more of a response out of her. After a few moments, he tried coming at it from another angle. "Well, can I just say in my defense… you were lying, too. You were lying about your identity, calling yourself 'Felicity' and all that. So... I guess neither of us have been completely honest with each other."

Dawn decided she would humor him. "I suppose that's a fair point. But what does that matter?"

"I want you to know something." Gideon said. "I wasn't lying when I said I felt sorry for you. I don't know what made you the way you are, but I do know what it's like to go through life hating everybody. You see, I remember a long time ago, feeling that the only way to make myself happy was to make everybody else miserable. And that doesn't work. It just doesn't."

"So now you're psycho-analyzing me?" Dawn shot back. "Listen, just because you've been through a lot of therapy, that doesn't make you a therapist!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Gideon admitted, but then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, have you ever considered seeing a therapist yourself?" he asked.

Dawn scowled at him. "First of all, it's a bit too late to ask me that question _now_ , don't you think? And second of all, there's no reason for me to see a therapist. I can assure you I'm perfectly sane. It's the rest of the world that's lost its damned mind, not me."

Both mammals sat in silence for a few moments before Dawn spoke again. "Why did you want to talk to me anyway? You got what you wanted. You got me arrested. If your plan was to make my life miserable, you've succeeded. Congratulations, well done. You sick freak."

This made Gideon a little upset. "I am not a sick freak," he insisted.

"You know what?" Dawn asked. "Let's just pretend for one second that I actually believed that. That you were 'one of the good ones'. You still have no reason to come and talk to me. Because in your eyes, I'm just a criminal mastermind. A 'monster'. So either way, you have no reason whatsoever to be nice to me."

She sat back down on the bed. "The smart thing for you to do is run away," she said. "To get as far away from me as you possibly can."

Dawn was silent after that, and she smiled. She very obviously intended for that to be the last word.

But then Gideon spoke up. "The thing is, I was never very smart."

After a long pause, Dawn groaned. "Yes, I figured that out for myself." She stood up and gritted her teeth. "Look, just cut the act already."

"I'm not acting," Gideon said. "Trust me, I'm not very good at acting. When I was younger, I tried out for a couple of plays and never got in any of them. The point is, if I was acting, you would know."

Dawn scoffed and turned away. "Well, I don't care how dumb you are. I mean, you probably should have figured out by now that I don't particularly care for predators. So, if you know what's good for you, or even if you don't, you need to leave right now."

"Why do you hate predators in the first place?" Gideon asked.

"Because I do," Dawn said, flatly. "And because they deserve it."

But Gideon wasn't buying it. After all those years in therapy, he had picked up on a few things. "That seems kinda vague to me. I think it's gotta be a little more complicated than that."

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be trying so hard to understand what was going on in another mammal's head. But this was different. She was exhibiting a lot of behaviors that reminded him of the way he used to act back in his childhood. Mainly, the fact that she kept throwing out insults as a defense mechanism.

It was clear to Gideon that Dawn's intense hatred for predators couldn't have come out of nowhere, and there was one answer that seemed to be the most obvious.

"…Did a predator hurt you?"

Dawn went completely silent. And for a brief moment, Gideon caught a flash of… _something_ in her eyes. But it only lasted for a moment, and then it was gone.

And she was pissed.

" _…Okay, Gideon_ ," she said in a dangerously stoic voice. " _Now you have gone too far._ "

She gritted her teeth and said, "Please leave."

And that was all she had to say.

…

While this was going on, Judy and Nick had been hard at work. All of the paperwork was now signed, and afterwards they had briefly met with Chief Bogo to talk about Bellwether's arrest. Now, they were gathering their things and ready to leave the station.

"Okay Carrots, is that everything?" Nick asked.

"Looks like it," Judy said. "I think we're just about ready to go."

Nick smiled. "Awesome, we're just waiting on your friend now."

As if on cue, the door opened, and out came Clawhauser and Gideon, making small talk. It seemed like the two of them were becoming fast friends, which Judy didn't find at all surprising.

"…Well, I have to get back to work," Clawhauser said, "So, I guess I'll just see you on your next visit."

Gideon waved as Clawhauser started walking towards the front desk.

"Okay Gideon," said Judy. "Are you ready to go?"

"Sure… I just have a question." Gideon said. "How long is she going to be in that holding cell?"

"Not long, thankfully," said Nick. "Just a few days at most, then they're going to move that monster to a more secure prison where she belongs."

"I just hope it's stable enough," Judy said. "We still don't know who was responsible for the explosion that got her out, but once we find them-"

Suddenly, Gideon spoke up. "You're wrong."

Both cops stared at him in confusion. "What?" asked Judy.

"She's not a monster," Gideon said simply. "She has a soul. It's just buried real deep. But it's there."

Nick looked skeptical. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because I know what it's like to be angry all the time," Gideon said. "I know what it's like to hide your true emotions. Look, I'm just saying-"

"Gideon…" Judy spoke up. "I understand what you're saying. I do. But the difference is, you were a schoolyard bully. This is an actual _criminal_ we're talking about here."

"Well, wasn't Nick a criminal when you first met him?" Gideon asked.

After a brief pause, Judy said, "That was different."

Gideon sighed. "Look, I'm not saying you should let her go or anything, I'm just saying… maybe you should look into getting her a therapist."

Nick frowned. "I think she might be too far gone for that."

"You could at least try," Gideon said. And when he realized that his pleas were falling on deaf ears, he sighed. "Look, I'm not gonna act like I know what makes the criminal mind tick. I don't know about her politics and I don't know what her past was like. All I know is that she is really messed up in the head and _she needs help_."

The two cops shared a look before Judy turned to face Gideon. "The bottom line is, that decision is not ours to make. I mean, I guess I could mention it to Bogo at the next meeting, but I can't promise that everyone will be on board with the idea."

"All right, I get it," Gideon said, trying to pull himself together. "Come on, we should probably go before the train leaves."

And with that, he went over to the front door and opened it. Judy immediately went through, but Nick hesitated. He turned to Gideon. "Why on earth does this matter so much to you?" he asked.

And for the life of him, Gideon Grey couldn't come up with an answer.


	12. Shrinking The Sheep

Chapter 12: Shrinking The Sheep

Author's Note: So, it looks like is having some issues. I've been making a lot of last minute adjustments that keep getting deleted. It's a miracle that you're seeing this chapter go up at all. I'm still not 100% confident in the finished chapter. But it's 1:21 AM right now and I just want to get this thing published before I go to bed. I might change a few things in the morning.

Once again, I'd like to thank you for all your support. For those of you who are wondering, the final chapter of _Z-Harmony_ will go up at some point during this week. I look forward to the moment when that story is finally behind me.

This chapter is going to be a little bit different than the preceding chapters. What I mean by that is, everything that's happened in this story so far has taken place in the span of a few days. But now, we're going to fast forward a bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

The next morning, Dawn awoke to the sound of a loud pounding on the cell door. She opened her eyes and reached for her glasses. When she looked up, she saw that it was a rhino guard. And he didn't look happy.

"Rise and shine, Bellwether," he said. "We're transferring you to your new home."

"Well, that was fast," Dawn remarked. "You must really be in a hurry to get rid of me."

The guard didn't smile. "That's right. This time you're headed off for Kingstone Prison, in Eastern Sahara Square."

As Dawn got up, the guard opened the door. He had several other guards standing next to him, and they all had tazers ready in case she tried to escape.

Dawn tried to act confident. "So, first the cold prison and now the hot prison. I guess a change of scenery is always nice."

The guard frowned. "Don't act cocky, Miss Bellwether, you're not getting out of this one." And then he leaned down and placed a pair of cuffs on her.

Dawn just smiled. "We'll see about that, won't we?"

…

"Five… Four… Three… Two… One! Happy New Year!"

Nick planted his lips on Judy's at the exact second the bell rang, and all around them, various couples were doing the same.

Judy's parents pulled away from their kiss and turned to look at their daughter, who had grown to be so happy with Nick. Her parents didn't care about his species anymore. They were just happy for the younger couple.

Gideon wasn't sure where this tradition had come from, having everybody lock lips at the glorious moment that the old year faded away and the new year was welcomed in. He supposed it was symbolic for hope for good things to come. Then again, it was always possible that it was invented for the sole reason of making single mammals feel bad.

Oh, well. A little hope never hurt anyone.

….

Dawn wasn't very fond of this new prison.

There was a lot more free time, when all the prisoners would be in the cafeteria or the yard. And Dawn did not get along with the other inmates at all.

All the predators loathed her with all their being. None of them even pretended to be nice to her, like Gideon had done. Not that she was complaining, of course. But many of them were much bigger and stronger than her. She had to pretend that she wasn't phased by the threatening looks they gave her.

On more than one occasion, she would ask one of the prey guards to make absolutely sure no predator ever tried to attack her. The guards assured her that any attempt at violence would be met with punishment, so she had nothing to worry about.

But she secretly worried that some of these guards wanted her to be attacked.

…

"All right, all right," Chief Bogo said. "Everybody settle down. Now, before we begin, I'd just like to welcome back several of our officers who have been on break for the holidays. It's good to have you all back, but remember; crime never takes a vacation. Look at what happened with Bellwether's escape. Fortunately for all of us, that drama was short lived. But that doesn't mean that something like that won't happen again."

He took out a set of folders and passed them out to various officers. "Here are your assignments. Thankfully, it's nothing too major. But for those of you returning from a break, you should be thankful for that." He cleared his throat before yelling, "Dismissed!"

As the other officers began to head out the door, Judy got down from her chair.

"Chief Bogo, can we have a word?"

The chief smiled. "Hopps. Wilde. You two are the only cops I know who can stop a criminal mastermind for the second time _while on vacation_."

Nick shrugged. "To be fair, we had a lot of help."

"Chief, I…" Judy began, a little nervously. "I wanted to ask something. It might sound a little crazy, but…"

"Hopps, with you, everything's crazy," The chief said. "But somehow, every idea the two of you have come up with has paid off. So, I'll listen."

Judy cleared her throat. "When Bellwether was put in prison the first time, was she put through any kind of rehabilitation therapy?"

"No," the chief stated. "They only do that sort of thing for mammals who have a chance of making it _out_ of prison one day. Bellwether's crimes earned her a life sentence, without possibility of parole. Frankly, it's a miracle she managed to avoid the death penalty. And now, her recent escape only adds to her list of crimes."

"Now, wait a second there, chief," Judy said. "From what we were able to put together, Bellwether was not in cahoots with whoever blew up the prison wall. Which means she technically didn't plan to escape. The prison wall blew open, and she was one of many who seized the opportunity and fled."

"Hold on a minute, what would be the point of getting Miss Bellwether this type of treatment?" the chief asked. "Whether or not she was planning her escape, the things that she did – even to just the two of you - seem rather unforgivable to me."

Judy thought for a moment, unsure of how was she going to put this into words. Finally, she spoke. "Sir... after Bellwether was arrested, I talked with a friend of mine. This particular friend was very helpful in accomplishing her arrest, mind you. He told me that he thinks Bellwether has the potential to improve, if she is only given the right treatment. And after looking over several tapes of her, I'm starting to believe he may have a point." She paused, and then added, "Plus, giving her a therapist would ensure that we could closely monitor her actions, and make doubly sure that she never attempts any sort of escape ever again."

Bogo thought it over for a few moments before slowly nodding his head. "That might be a good idea," he said. "I'll bring it up with the head of the prison the next time I see her. Thank you for your suggestion."

Judy smiled. "Thank you for your time, sir."

As Judy and Nick took their files and began walking towards their offices, Nick couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Judy asked.

"I just can't believe you convinced him," Nick said. "Heck, you haven't even convinced me yet!"

"Well, nothing's official yet," Judy said. "So, let's just wait and see what happens."

…

Much like the classic game of telephone, by the time Bogo pitched the idea to the head of the prison, it had changed a bit. The whole reason behind getting Dawn Bellwether a therapist had very little to do with actually improving her mental health. The primary goal was to get someone to keep a close eye on her. They needed to make absolutely sure that she wouldn't try to escape again.

Of course, this being a prison, there were naturally going to be security cameras in every room. But most of the time, Bellwether rarely spoke at all, and it was hard to get a grasp on whether or not she was planning something. But if she actually had someone to talk to, then maybe she would let a few things slip. Maybe they could get some information.

And the idea became very popular.

…

Dawn blinked. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"We are going to get you a therapist." The guard repeated. "You will have a session with them once a week, and I don't want to hear any arguments."

After a few moments, Dawn asked, "Is this therapist going to be a predator or prey mammal?"

"Miss Bellwether, the entire point of these sessions is to make you realize it doesn't matter."

…

The first doctor they tried, Dr. Bamberton, was an actual trained therapist. Dawn was hoping that since he was a prey mammal (a deer, to be specific), he would be more understanding to her case. But Dr. Bamberton despised his patient, and he found it very difficult to hide his feelings towards her.

"Doctor, please." Dawn said. "I know you're just doing your job and all that, but we don't have to pretend. We both know I'm not the real monster here."

"Miss Bellwether, when you were first arrested for your crimes two years ago, you confessed to everything."

Dawn smiled. "There's no point in denying what I did, doctor. I think the real question should be, was it _really_ such a bad thing?"

After only two sessions with Dawn, Dr. Bamberton was ready to quit.

"In my professional opinion, there is no hope for her," He said to the prison warden. "Miss Bellwether has been officially diagnosed as a sociopath. And while it's not impossible for someone with this diagnosis to change for the better, it can only happen if the patient in question _wants_ to change. Which, I think we can both agree, is a rather unlikely scenario. Now, I understand that this should hardly be a real surprise for you. I understand that my primary goal at this institution is not to do the job I specifically trained to do, but rather to be a spy. But I do not wish to spend any more time in that room with that… monster. If you need someone to be a spy, maybe you should find someone better suited for that job."

And so, Dr. Bamberton was replaced with Dr. Wilkes. He was a pig who was not actually a real doctor at all. In his sessions with Dawn, he would simply read off a bunch of stock therapist lines and improvise his way through the part. Fortunately for the officers, Dawn never seemed to catch on that Dr. Wilkes wasn't a real therapist. She was clearly too frustrated with the whole situation to read too deeply into Wilkes' acting.

The only problem was the actual 'spying' part. During all of her sessions, Dawn would always remain incredibly stoic. Most of the time, she would refuse to talk altogether, and even when she did speak, it was hard for the officers to tell if she was lying or not.

Eventually, Dawn started complaining to some of the guards, asking how these therapy sessions were supposed to be helping her, and bringing up the fact that Dr. Wilkes really wasn't any more helpful than the previous doctor.

That's when the warden came out with the idea of routinely switching the therapists out. They would bring in a different mammal and keep them for a few weeks in hope of catching dirt on Dawn Bellwether. Each time, the phony therapist would walk away with a tiny bit of information about her. It was always just enough that the warden decided not to end the experiment just yet.

Eventually, a few of the officers started to wonder whether or not genuine therapy could have worked after all. Because some of the fake therapists got better results than others. Dawn seemed to be a little more comfortable around females than males, and she definitely seemed much more comfortable around prey than predators. They only tried bringing in a predator to play the role one time, and it had been such a disaster that they vowed never to do it again.

But after a while, the results started to go downhill. Dawn hadn't quite caught on to what was going on, but she did feel that the sessions were going nowhere.

And many of the officers felt the same way.

It was right around this time that Judy and Nick found out about how Dawn's 'therapy sessions' were really going. Nick genuinely thought the spying was a great idea, but Judy wasn't so sure.

When she reviewed the tapes, Judy pointed out a few moments when it looked like the ewe was genuinely affected by what the 'therapists' were saying. But it was hard to tell, and the warden pointed out that Bellwether had managed to fool everyone before.

But Judy shook her head. "If Bellwether was actively trying to fool us into thinking her mental health was improving, I think she would be acting much better by now. You might have seen a lot more emotion out of her, maybe a tearful 'I'm sorry'... But she's not doing that. She's remaining cold to every therapist she meets."

"So what are you saying?" asked Officer Higgins. "Do you think we should bring in more real therapists? Because I don't think a lot of doctors want to associate themselves with her, much less with the whole 'going undercover' thing. Besides, Bellwether can't tell the difference. She's still gonna get the exact same thing from a fake shrink that she would get from a real one."

"No offense," Judy said. "But I don't think that's how therapy works."

…

Judy gave a quiet tap on the cell door.

Dawn turned around and seemed genuinely surprised to see Judy standing there. "Judy…" she said, with a hint of a smile on her face. "Let me guess, you've finally come to your senses and you're here to break me out?"

Judy didn't smile. "I think you know that's not the reason I'm here."

Dawn shrugged. "Well, I can dream, can't I?" And then she let out a laugh that honestly sounded a little deranged.

Judy sighed. "I'm here to ask you how your therapy sessions were going."

"Oh, spectacular." Dawn said, sarcastically. "They sit there and go on a big long tangent about, 'Did anything traumatic happen to you as a child?' and 'Don't you feel any remorse whatsoever?'" Her smile disappeared. "I'll spare you the time, Judy. The answer to both of those questions is 'no'."

"Listen, Miss Bellwether…" Judy tried to think of the right thing to say. "The last time we saw each other, you said we could have been friends. Well, right now, I'm trying to help you. So, let me help you. Listen to the therapists. Actually listen to them."

Dawn chortled. "Like I'm going to listen to a bunch of hacks that the warden chose to pair up with me." She giggled a little bit. "Like that one time they tried… what's his name, Dr. Prowler. He was a good-for-nothing predator. And I'll bet my life he wasn't even a real doctor."

Judy sighed. The fact that Dawn was actually _right_ didn't exactly help the case she was trying to make.

After a few moments where Judy couldn't think of anything to say, Dawn continued. "Why are you trying to help me, anyway?"

"Because like you said, the two of us are very similar." She paused, trying to find the right way to phrase the next few sentences. "And truth be told, I do see a little bit of myself in you. But it's more like a dark reflection of myself. Like, when I look at you, I see the kind of mammal I could have become if I had made different decisions..."

"...The right decisions," Dawn interrupted.

"Agree to disagree," Judy said.

Dawn shrugged. "Listen, Judy. I just want what you want. To make the world better and safer. But for some reason, you want to make sure the preds get to live happy, too. Speaking of which, how is that fox friend of yours?"

Judy frowned. "His name is Nick."

"I was actually talking about your _other_ fox friend. The baker."

"Gideon?" Judy asked, raising an eyebrow. "...He's doing fine. His business is doing well, he's been making trips to Zootopia more frequently lately. Why do you ask?"

Dawn scoffed. "It's hard not to think about the mammal who is the sole reason for your entire plan falling apart spectacularly!" She gritted her teeth. "I never should have trusted him, I know that now. He just... seemed so _genuine_. Only now, he seems genuinely sorry for getting me thrown in jail, if his 'apology' is any indication."

Judy blinked. "Wait, he apologized for that?"

"Yes, he did." Dawn said, crossing her arms and looking off to the side. "He's just... so hard to read. Usually, when I'm in the same room as a predator, it's obvious to me when they're telling the truth and when they're lying. Usually it's the latter, but when a predator is particularly dumb, or particularly mean, glimpses of truth can come out." She began pacing around her cell. "Now, with this fox, it almost seems like he's being genuine all the time, which is _impossible_. I know for a fact that he lied to me at least once, otherwise I wouldn't be in this goddamned prison!" Dawn suddenly kicked the bed in frustration.

After a long pause, Judy spoke. "Have you talked about Gideon in any of your therapist sessions?"

"No," Dawn said. "Why should I? That fox means literally nothing to me."

Judy had to resist the urge to chuckle at the obvious lie. She cleared her throat. "I think that will be all for today," she said. And with that, she started walking away, trying to make sense of everything she had just learned.

Meanwhile, Dawn sat on her bed, lost in thought. She hadn't thought about that stupid fox for weeks, months even. But when Judy showed up, Dawn started to remember her rather undignified second arrest in the pie shop. And while she was upset by the foxes betrayal, she was also surprised that she hadn't seen the betrayal coming.

It occurred to her that part of the problem was the simple fact that he had been so nice to her in the brief time she knew him. No one else had even pretended to be nice in the all the time she had been trapped in this new prison.

'But obviously, the whole thing was an act,' Dawn told herself. 'Because after all, that's what predators do.'

Now that she came to think of it, Gideon was actually overdoing his act. He was trying so hard to prove to her that he was a 'nice predator', that he ended up coming across as kinder than most _prey_ mammals she had met.

But of course, that was impossible.

She had always heard about how so many prisoners went mad from isolation. She was grateful that in all the time she had spent as an inmate, she remained just as sane as she had always been.

But now, as Dawn lay in bed, unable to stop thinking about that stupid fox that she logically shouldn't be thinking about, she couldn't help but wonder.

The last thing she wanted was to go mad from the isolation. So many mammals already saw her as 'crazy'. She couldn't risk actually losing her mind.

If she ever saw that fox again, she would put him in his place.


	13. The Two Bullies

Chapter Thirteen: The Two Bullies

Author's Note: This chapter went through a massive rewrite at the last minute. Hopefully it works.

Also, I know a lot of you are anxious about the final chapter of _Z-Harmony_. I'll try to get that out at some point this week. Once the Oscars are over, I should have more free time on my hands.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

...

When Benjamin Clawhauser walked into the ZPD headquarters, he was surprised to find that the room was not only completely empty, but completely dark as well. At first, he was starting to think he had missed a memo, that this was some sort of special day off that he had forgotten about. Which was ironic, because today was his birthd-

Wait.

All at once, the lights came on and he was greeted by a loud, "Happy Birthday!" As he looked around, he saw all of his co-workers wearing cheap birthday hats while the room was decorated with confetti. Even Chief Bogo was wearing a birthday hat, which just made the whole experience even crazier.

Clawhauser was squealing in delight. "Aw, guys, thank you so much!"

"Yes, yes." The chief said. "Now, to be clear… I don't want this party to last any longer than twenty minutes at the most, and then we'll have roll call."

"Chief, you are no fun at all." Nick said.

Bogo didn't respond right away. But as the party continued, he muttered to himself, "…I know."

It was surprising how much fun you could pack into twenty minutes. There was enough food for everyone, and Clawhauser tried to have just a little bit of everything. Recently, he had been trying to keep his health in check, but today was a good day to splurge a little. He would go on a diet tomorrow. Probably.

Even though there were many different types of food available, the hit of the party was easily Gideon's pies. The fox had jumped at the chance to stop by, and even though he was not a big fan of crowds, he tried his best to make small talk with the officers.

Eventually, the party was over, and everyone went into the meeting room for roll call. It turned out that today was a pretty slow day for crime, and Judy and Nick were assigned to basic patrol duty. While Nick was getting the car ready, Judy decided to have a brief chat with Gideon before he left.

"Gideon, thank you so much for coming up here," she said. "I know it's a long trip from Bunnyburrow."

Gideon shrugged. "I find myself making the trip more and more often. I don't really mind it."

"So… it seems like you and Clawhauser are becoming fast friends."

"Yeah, he seems like a really nice fella…" He paused for a moment, then asked, "How are things going with you?"

"Hmm, let's see… stopping robberies, bringing down drug cartels… you know, the usual."

Gideon chuckled a bit.

After a brief pause, Judy added, "Oh, remember that idea you had about giving Bellwether therapy? We've been trying it."

Gideon smiled. "Oh, good! How's it coming along?"

"Not well." Judy said. "She's barely making any progress. Not that any of the therapists care."

"Why wouldn't they care?" Gideon asked, confused.

"I don't know... I guess they just don't think she's capable of changing her ways."

"But what about you? Do you think she can change?"

The question came as a surprise to Judy. She wasn't entirely sure how to respond. "I… I don't know." She finally said. "A year ago, I would have said no. She did so many terrible things, including trying to kill me. And she doesn't seem exactly sorry for any of it. But… about a week ago, I visited her in her cell. She's just so… hard to get a grasp on. There are times where she almost seems relatable."

"You know, it's funny…" Gideon said. "I can't stop thinking about what happened in Bunnyburrow, all those months ago, when she was out."

"Well, if it helps, neither can she," Judy said. "I mean, I won't sugarcoat it; she hates your guts."

Gideon shrugged. "…That's about what I expected."

Judy sighed. "She's just so… twisted. It's like she can't comprehend the fact that a predator can be nice."

After a brief pause, Gideon said, "She must not have met a lot of nice predators, then."

Both mammals stood in silence for a few moments. Then, a small smile appeared on Judy's face. "Do you want to visit her again?"

Gideon seemed totally caught off-guard with that question. "I, uh…" he stammered. " I… I don't know. I mean… no. No. I'm fine."

"Gideon, it's okay if you do." Judy assured him. "It'll be behind metal bars. It's totally safe. And if you're worried about tearing me away from something important, don't be. This is a really slow day."

Gideon looked indecisive. "I just worry about what her reaction would be."

But Judy just smiled. "That's exactly why I suggested it."

...

Judy had asked Nick if they could make a brief stop at Kingstone Prison during their patrol. Nick agreed, seeing how they would be patrolling Sahara Square anyway, and they didn't have much else to do. He was vaguely aware that Gideon had some interest in Bellwether's case, and while he didn't completely understand it, he ultimately didn't care too much either way.

When they arrived at the prison, Nick admitted he really didn't want to go in there to see her again. So he stayed back and patrolled while Judy escorted Gideon through the prison.

Before too long, they had reached Dawn's cell. Judy knocked twice on the cell door and said, "Miss Bellwether, you've got a visitor."

Dawn was currently lying in her bed. When she heard Judy's voice, she sat up and turned. Her eyes immediately landed on Gideon. The expression on her face was a mixture of anger and surprise.

"You…" she said. "You actually came back..."

"…Hi?" Gideon said, awkwardly.

Dawn scowled. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to know how you were holding up." Gideon knew how stupid that sounded even before the words left his mouth.

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "How I'm _holding up_?" She said, incredulously. She then put on an overtly sarcastic demeanor. "Well, first of all, I'm in _prison_. I spend every day alone, eating the worst food you could imagine and getting dirty looks from predators that are triple my size! And then I go to sleep, on the most uncomfortable bed ever invented, I inevitably have a bad dream, and then I wake up for another day of _fun_." She walked right up to the bars and stared the fox down. "You know, I hadn't had nightmares in a long time, then _you_ got me arrested. So I'm just gonna blame you for that, too."

"Miss Bellwether, I just..." Gideon cleared his throat. "From what I heard, the therapy thing hasn't been working out so great. And I want you to know... I was the one who suggested it."

Dawn had already suspected as much, but knowing for a fact that Gideon was directly responsible for all those pointless therapy sessions just made her hate him even more, if it was possible.

"Therapy was a terrible idea," She said with a scowl. "How you got anyone to listen to you is beyond me."

"I guess I just thought…" He scrambled, thinking of the right thing to say. "I mean, therapy worked for me."

"Well, maybe you just have a simpler mind than I do," Dawn said.

After a few moments, Gideon shrugged and gave a little smile. "That could be it, yeah."

Dawn frowned. She had meant that as an insult, and was quite surprised that Gideon had agreed with her. She shook her head and asked, "Why are you _really_ here? I highly doubt you just decided to stop by and chat. Unless you're stupid enough to think that we're friends or something."

"No, no, it's not that," Gideon said, stammering a bit. "It's just... I haven't been able to stop thinking about what happened. And when I talked to Judy, she said you were thinking about me, so…"

"Judy, you little snitch!" Dawn said, as she turned to look in the officer's direction.

Judy just held her paws up defensively. "Hey, don't bring me into this!"

After a few moments, Dawn sighed and turned to face Gideon. "All right, I'll admit that I've been thinking about you a lot. Because you're the one who put me in this stupid prison! And now, it looks like you found a way to make my life in prison even more miserable. Seriously, you might accidentally be an evil genius!"

Gideon looked confused. "I honestly don't know if that's an insult or a compliment, so I'm just gonna move on."

Dawn frowned. "No, you're not going to move on. Because we're done here. You ruined everything. There's nothing left to say."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"You say 'I'm sorry' _way_ too many times," Dawn scoffed and turned away. "Just drop the act and stop being so goddamned nice to me!"

After a few tense moments, Gideon said "…Well, I guess I could start acting mean, if you want me to… but then I would be fulfilling your request, which is a nice thing to do. I just don't understand what you want me to do here."

There was a long pause. Dawn took in everything Gideon had just said, and then, something rather surprising happened; she began to laugh. It was hard to tell whether she found the joke genuinely funny, or she simply couldn't believe that Gideon was actually beginning to outsmart her.

When she eventually stopped laughing, she looked back up at him. "You are quite the character, Gideon Grey."

Gideon wasn't sure what to say. "Um… thank you?"

Dawn's smile promptly disappeared. "That _definitely_ wasn't a compliment. God, you really are as dumb as a brick wall."

Judy chose this moment to step in. "Miss Bellwether, is that really necessary?"

"You're right," Dawn said. "I apologize to any brick walls that were offended by my comment."

Judy tried to calm her down. "Miss Bellwether, please."

Gideon spoke up. "Hey, I will be the first to admit, I'm not the smartest."

Dawn smiled. "Understatement of the year."

"But I think I'm doing all right for myself," Gideon said. "So you don't need to..."

"You're selling pies," Dawn remarked. "Not exactly a glamorous life."

For the first time since the conversation began, Gideon was beginning to look a little nervous. "I mean, it's gotta be better than prison."

"I was the freaking Mayor of Zootopia, you dimwit." Dawn said through gritted teeth. "And for better or worse, my name is going to go down in history when all is said and done."

"I don't think that's very fair-"

But Dawn interrupted him. "You couldn't even begin to put together a grand plan like I did. Whether you agree with my politics are not, you simply lack the ambition."

"Mam, I…" Gideon was trying to avoid Dawn's gaze. He was starting to feel genuinely uncomfortable.

"I'm not finished." Her eyes were unflinching. She was staring directly into his soul. "How much control do you really have over your own life, Gideon? Because it doesn't matter how nice you pretend to be. At the end of the day, you're still a fox surrounded by bunnies, destined to be feared and hated. You're ugly, you're fat, you're stupid, and your life is _never_ going to amount to anything."

"Please…" Gideon begged.

"Oh, tell me I'm wrong, Gideon!" Dawn shouted, glad to finally have the upper hand over this dumb fox. "But nothing can change the facts! You, Gideon Grey, are going to live a life doing nothing but needlessly selling food to bunnies who could really care less, and when all is said and done, you're going to die, poor and alone..."

Suddenly, Gideon shouted, "Do you think I don't know that!?"

The room became deathly silent.

Judy was stunned. She hadn't seen such a loud outburst from Gideon since his childhood. He always seemed so calm and collected. Perhaps it made sense that if anybody would be able to push his buttons, it was Bellwether. Judy was beginning to feel that bringing him here was a terrible idea.

Gideon took a few deep breaths, then continued to speak in a raised voice, "I know I'm not smart! I know I'm not handsome! I know that there a lot of bunnies in that town that hate me, but… but I'm trying!" His anger seemed to be dwindling, and with every passing word, it was becoming apparent that he was on the verge of tears. "I… I really don't want to be like I used to, in my childhood and even in my early teens. I hated being a bully. I never want to go back to that time, it was awful..."

Gideon sat down and sniffled. Dawn watched him, trying her best to maintain a stoic expression.

Finally, the ewe broke the silence. "If you hated it so much, then why did you start bullying in the first place?"

Gideon didn't look up. He took a few deep breaths. Finally, he spoke. "I don't know. I guess I could probably name a whole bunch of reasons. My home life wasn't perfect... and I didn't exactly have a lot of friends. In fact, when I was _very_ young, I was... kinda pathetic, to be honest. I wasn't smart, but I wasn't athletic either. I was just that weird fox who liked butterflies and wasn't tough." He seemed to be gently hugging himself as he spoke. "One day, I just decided I would rather be the one doing the bullying than the one getting bullied... you know what I mean?"

After a few seconds passed, Dawn spoke. Very softly. Almost to herself. "...I think I do."

Dawn's mind was in inner turmoil. She had spent at least 20 years living her life by a strict code: Never trust a predator. But at this very moment, she saw that there was genuine, raw emotion in Gideon's eyes - emotion that was directly inspired by Dawn's very harsh comments. But even in the unlikely event that Gideon was just a phenomenal actor, there was still the fact that Dawn was genuinely affected by his words. And she couldn't deny the fact that she was actually relating to a lot of what this fox was saying.

Gideon pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes. "Look, I know how you feel about predators. It's the same way a lot of prey feel. And I'll admit, not every predator is a saint. But... I'm trying, Miss Bellwether. I'm trying to be a good part of society and all that, I..." All his confidence seemed to dwindle away, leaving only uncertainty. "I'm trying..." He finished, weakly.

"I'm sorry."

All of the sudden, the room was quiet. The air became still.

Gideon looked up, confused. Judy stared, absolutely stunned. And Dawn was just as shocked as the other two were, maybe even more so. She had spoken without thinking, and now, she genuinely couldn't believe that those words had come out of her mouth. Did she actually just say that? To a predator?

Almost immediately, Dawn cleared her throat and shifted her face into a sinister smile. "What I _mean_ is, I'm sorry that you can't be a good part of society! It's in your DNA! Nothing can change that! Now get out of my sight, you stupid fox!" She turned away from him.

There was a long silence where no one said anything. Neither Judy or Gideon knew quite how to respond to that. Eventually, Gideon stood up. "Well, I should probably go. I apologize for taking up your time, Miss Bellwether." He started to walk towards the exit.

But this time, Judy decided to speak up. "Wait, Gideon... I've never seen _anyone_ get that kind of reaction out of her," she said, sincerely.

Dawn spoke up. "If you're going to talk about me like that, you can at least have the courtesy to do it in a different room." She was feeling her usual passive-aggressive attitude return, and she was quite grateful for that.

Judy turned around to face Dawn. "Miss Bellwether, over the past few months, you've seen a number of therapists. Would you say that any of their sessions gave you a moment of… self-reflection?"

"What? No."

"And what about the conversation you just had with Gideon?" Judy asked. "Because it looked to me like you were having some doubts back there."

"What are you implying, Judy?" Dawn asked, baffled. "That this… fox is some kind of miracle worker? So… at best, you could say that he's a little nicer than your typical predator, but that doesn't make him a messiah figure. He started out as a bully, he admitted it himself."

"Yes, and then he realized he was wrong and he atoned for his sins." Judy said. "Which is exactly what we want _you_ to do."

"In your dreams," Dawn said. "Anyway, I don't have to listen to him. He's a baker. He's not a therapist."

That seemed to give Judy an idea. "But he _could_ be a therapist."

" _What?_ " Gideon and Dawn said simultaneously.

"Gideon…" Judy said. "You mentioned earlier how the train ride to Zootopia wasn't much of a commute? Do you think you could come up here… say, once a week?"

"Sure, but… why?"

"Well, seeing how the actual therapy sessions are going nowhere, I'm starting to think we don't need a therapist. We just need someone who can relate to Dawn. Someone who can talk to her on her level. And right now, you seem to fit the bill."

A few moments passed, with both Gideon and Dawn were at a loss for words, for completely different reasons. "Look," Judy continued, looking directly at Gideon. "I know this meeting was emotional for you, but... I think you were right, all those months ago. I think she _does_ have the ability to change. You've convinced me. And I think that this might be exactly what she needs right now. I mean, you know a thing or two about redemption. You could help her."

Gideon looked back and forth between Judy and Dawn. Slowly, a smile appeared on his face. "All right, I could do that."

"Of course you'd say that," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, is this really what it's come to? Therapy sessions with a predator who very openly doesn't have a degree?"

"Look," said Gideon, turning to face Dawn. "Don't think of it as a therapy session. Think of it like, once a week, I come down to the station, and we can just talk. Like, just have a casual chat. And you can share a little bit, if you want to, and I can share a little bit. Maybe some days you can grill me like you're the therapist."

Gideon genuinely liked the idea, but Dawn was not convinced. Frankly, it was crazy that her situation had even gotten to this point.

After a short pause, Gideon read the look on her face. "And you know what, I've just had a thought," he said, looking rather pleased with himself. "If you agree to do this, to have these sessions… or meetings, whatever you want to call them, and then, if they think you did a good job at the end of the meeting, maybe…. well, maybe I could give you a little treat from my shop."

Dawn's eyes widened. "So now you are literally trying to bribe me with food, huh? Wow, you have officially run out of ideas." Dawn scoffed, trying her hardest to hide the fact that she was legitimately tempted by the offer.

Judy spoke up. "Look, you're going to be assigned a new therapist either way. And I think we can both agree that these current sessions aren't going anywhere. At least this way, you get something out of it."

Even Dawn had to admit, it seemed logical. But she still wasn't entirely sure. She stared at Gideon. "You said you felt sorry for lying to me. Well, I'm going to ask you a question and I would prefer it if you could be honest."

"Absolutely," Gideon said.

Dawn hesitated a bit before asking, "Can you promise me, that none of the baked goods you make will be poisoned or drugged?"

Gideon looked taken aback that she would even ask such a thing. "Gee, I would never do anything like that. I promise."

Dawn looked back and forth between Gideon and Judy, trying to decide what to do. She had learned from an early age that predators are not to be trusted, but there was something about Gideon that made him so easy to trust. Like, maybe... just maybe... he could be 'one of the good ones.'

At this point, she was starting to wonder if she would ever get out of this prison. She didn't know whether or not Doug was hatching up a plan, and in the event that she _was_ stuck in this prison for the rest of her life, maybe a few pies might make things easier.

'I'm only in it for the food.' Dawn thought to herself. 'I don't need to actually trust him. All I need to do is humor him.'

So she put on a smile. "All right, Gideon Grey," she said. "You've got yourself a deal."


	14. Pretend To Be Friends

Chapter Fourteen: Pretend To Be Friends

Author's Note: Once again, I apologize for the lack of progress that i've made regarding _Z-Harmony_. I've been busier than usual lately. I promise, I won't make you wait as long as you did for Chapter 12.

Anyway, It's exciting to see how far along into the story I'm getting. I think we should hit the 50,000 word mark at either Chapter 18 or 19. At that point, the story will officially be novel-length, which is almost unbelievable. I hope you're all enjoying the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

…

"Are you out of your mind?" Nick asked.

Judy didn't see what the big deal was. "Gideon's a good mammal. I trust him."

"If you like him so much, then why are you putting him in the same room with literally one of the most dangerous criminals currently alive today?" Nick argued

"Relax, Nick." Judy said. "It'll be totally safe. The whole thing will be monitored, we'll have half a dozen guards right around the corner. Nothing bad will happen. And hey, if the first session doesn't show any promising results, we won't continue it."

But Nick wasn't convinced. "What baffles me is the fact that you actually think she can get _better_. I mean, how many criminals are able to change their ways just like that?"

"Well, for starters… _you_ did."

That shut him up.

…

"Good afternoon, Miss Bellwether," Gideon said, sitting down for their first 'session.' "Or… can I call you Dawn?"

"Miss Bellwether will do fine, thank you." Dawn shifted in her seat. "And I want to make one thing perfectly clear; I'm only doing this for the food."

"Fair enough," Gideon replied.

"I'm still not entirely sure on whether you bake your own products, or if it's just a part of your 'wholesome neighborly predator' act, but I don't think it really matters."

"You still think this is an act?" Gideon asked.

Dawn shrugged. "Of course it is. After all, not only are you a predator, you're also a fox. A species that is specifically known for lying and being deceitful."

"And you think that because I'm a fox, that automatically means I'm lying all the time?"

"Stereotypes exist for a reason," Dawn said matter-of-factly. "Everybody knows that foxes are shifty, untrustworthy scum of the earth."

There was a pause, before Gideon said, "Well… by that logic, you could say…. everybody also knows that sheep are meek and timid, just mindlessly following the herd. But I think we can both agree you don't fit that stereotype."

Dawn was caught off guard by that. She sighed. "All right, you _may_ have a point. But still, that doesn't mean I should trust you. And it certainly doesn't make us friends."

"Well… you do seem kinda lonely."

Dawn scoffed. "That's called being in prison, you moron."

"I mean, if you don't have anybody to talk to in here, maybe it would make you feel better if you can talk to me. You could at least pretend that we're friends… or something like that." Gideon realized how stupid he sounded.

Dawn stared at him quizzically, not quite sure what to say. After a few seconds, she put on an especially fake smile and cheery voice. "Oh my gosh, Gideon! We're totally gonna be BFFs forever! Let's go make some friendship bracelets after this!"

She dropped the smile, but then did a double take. "Okay, you seemed _way_ too excited when I brought up friendship bracelets, and I think I should be concerned."

Gideon was even more embarrassed. He started blushing, which made his fur appear even redder. "What can I say, I guess I am a feminine guy." He paused, then quickly added, "Just so it's out there, I'm not gay."

"Honestly, I could really care less."

Gideon smiled a bit. "And here I was, thinking that you had old-fashioned beliefs."

"I do have _some_ standards. But continue."

"Either way, it doesn't matter because I like girls. Even if they don't seem to like me back."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "I thought everybody liked you."

Gideon gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said. "Maybe as a friend, but…" he cleared his throat. "I'm getting off topic. We're supposed to be talking about you."

"Ah, so this is the part where you play therapist." Dawn had been thinking about this topic for the past couple of days. She decided it couldn't hurt to tell him what she told the other shrinks. "I'll give you the basic facts," she said. "I was born on March 25, 1982. I'm the only child of Laurence and Marie Bellwether. Born and raised in Deerbrooke County. Moved to Zootopia to attend college. Yadda yadda yadda. Not much to say."

"What about your parents, what were they like?" Gideon asked.

She thought about stalling for time, before accepting that she had to play along. "Well, my dad was… scratch that, he _is_ a respected lawyer. He taught me everything I know."

"And your mother?"

"Well… she died when I was very young."

Gideon's ears drooped. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be," she said, not seeming to mind talking about it. "I don't even remember her. From what I was able to piece together, she was sort of a wild cannon. I'm not even sure how she fell for my dad in the first place."

"And… how did she die?" Gideon asked, nervously.

"Drug overdose."

"Wow…" Gideon said, taking it in.

"Yeah, she was something of an addict," she said somewhat disdainfully. "Even when she was pregnant with me, if you can believe that. Apparently that's the reason I came out so freakishly short for my species, which led to..." she trailed off, then tried to maintain her composure. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay, we'll move on to something else, then."

Dawn blinked. "Wait, really? Just like that?"

"If you're gonna share personal information about yourself, it should be at your own pace."

"Huh..." Dawn let that sink in for a few moments. "...You know, I've never been a big fan of therapy."

Gideon shrugged. "You get used to it after a while."

…

When the session was over, Dawn hadn't revealed a _ton_ of information about herself, but it was still more than she had to any previous therapist. In Judy's eyes, that was enough of a good reason to keep the experiment going.

Since each of the 'sessions' were being recorded, Judy always had access to everything said by both parties. While Dawn never said too much, and she certainly never seemed apologetic, it certainly looked like progress was being made.

It helped that Gideon talked a lot about his own past during each meeting, sharing some things even Judy hadn't known, which probably helped influence Dawn into revealing just a little bit more information about herself.

Exactly how conversational Dawn was feeling would vary from session to session. On the second meeting, Gideon had tried to ask her about how she had been bullied in her youth. This ended up backfiring when she turned the conversation around to how he was technically a bully, or at least a former one. And a bunch of insults followed suit. It was becoming increasingly clear that Dawn was using insults as a defense mechanism, but knowing this didn't make it any easier to break down her walls.

The only interesting bit of information that came out of Session #2 was that the section of Deerbrooke County where Dawn grew up had little to no predators living in it at the time. Gideon tried to ask her about some of her earliest encounters with predators, but she refused to elaborate on the matter.

…

One of the most revealing moments happened in the third meeting. Dawn seemed to be a little more casual with Gideon this time. Judy wasn't entirely sure why, though she suspected that she might have been a little remorseful after being so hard on him the previous session. Then again, Judy could never really be sure what the ewe was really feeling.

At one point during the session, Gideon asked, "Did you have any friends growing up?"

"Not many," Dawn responded. "In middle school, I was basically a loner. But when I got to high school, I met Fiona Hoggle."

"Was she a sheep?"

"She was a pig, actually. She saw that I was being bullied, and she took pity on me. She inspired me to try and be more cool, and… well, she had my back. But then I moved to Zootopia, and I haven't seen her in years."

After a moment, Gideon asked, "Do you think… that she would be on your side, regarding all this… controversy?"

Dawn didn't even have to think about it. "Oh, I have no doubt she would. See, that's the thing about us prey. We stick together. Except for the traitors, like Judy."

"So… was Fiona your only friend?"

"She's the one that stands out. I guess there were a couple mammals that have come and gone, but for the most part, I've been by myself."

"What about, like… a boyfriend?"

Dawn sighed before saying, "…There were a couple of guys over the years. All sheep, of course. I didn't have serious feelings for any of them. It's not like they were bad or anything, it's just… well, they were either too boring or too eager to get into the bedroom, sometimes both. Besides, I've always been to career-oriented to focus on that. There are much more important things in life than partnering up."

Gideon smiled. "If only my mom saw it that way."

…

The fourth session was less successful. Dawn seemed to be taking a step backwards, and she was acting more stoic and passive-aggressive.

"Miss Bellwether, I don't know what I have to do to convince you, but I'm really not lying about any of this." Gideon said, sincerely.

"I have no reason to trust you, Gideon. If that even is your real name." she snapped. "For all I know, you could just be some actor, pretending to be as nice as possible so that Judy can try and get me on her side."

Gideon thought about that for a moment. "Well, by that logic, that means I would have been playing that part the first time we met, in my shop. Back before anybody knew you had escaped. I mean, do you really think we could have come up with such an elaborate plan that was like three steps ahead of your plan?"

"…It's a theory."

After a moment, Gideon gave a soft smile. "Yeah, a theory. You're starting to sound like my grandpa when he says there are aliens buried under the city."

Against her better instinct, Dawn laughed. Then she pulled herself together and said, "Leaving that aside for now, there's something I haven't been able to understand. What exactly are these meetings supposed to accomplish? Because if you're trying to make me love predators, that's not going to happen."

"Maybe not _love_ predators, but at least… not _hate_ them?" Gideon realized how weak that sounded and tried to find another way to phrase it. "What I mean is, Judy and I… we want to help you change, for the better."

"Good luck with that," Dawn said with a smirk. "I'm one of the greatest heroes in the history of prey rights."

"Well, I know quite a few mammals who would disagree with that…"

Dawn just shrugged her shoulders and said, "All great heroes are a little controversial."

Gideon twiddled his thumbs while trying to think of a response. "Miss Bellwether, I just want you to know…. I don't know what you're thinking, and stop me if this sounds like it's gonna be too preachy or something, but…" He took a deep breath. "There was a time when I thought that there was no point in trying to be better, because I had gone too far. I thought that there was no way I can turn around-

"What's your point?" Dawn interrupted. "You think I can turn around? You think I can be 'good'? Because even if I managed to 'change for the better' as you put it, what difference would it make? Back when I was arrested, I was given a _life sentence_ , Gideon. Without possibility of parole. And even _if_ by some miracle you managed to change their minds, a good portion of the population of Zootopia would still hate me. My true supporters and admirers would call me weak for switching sides. And nobody on _your_ side would be willing to trust me."

Dawn was silent for a brief moment before shaking her head. "No, no, no. When I get out of this prison, _if_ I get out of this prison, it will be on my own terms. Understand?"

Ever since the sessions began, this was the first time that she had mentioned anything alluding to a possible escape plan. Gideon supposed he should press further on that point, but he had a feeling Dawn wouldn't want to go into more detail. Instead, he wanted to call attention to something else that she said.

"You said earlier that even if you changed, no one would trust you. But, the thing about that is... you never know. I didn't think anyone would trust me either. A lot of mammals can be very forgiving if you just apologize sincerely."

Dawn groaned. "Stop comparing yourself to me. You and I are nothing alike."

Gideon sighed. "I don't know about that…"

"You don't know about _anything_."

"And you do?"

Before Dawn could answer, a timer went off. Gideon looked at his phone and saw that the session was over. "That's it," he said, reaching into a small bag that he had brought with him and taking out a raspberry tart.

But he hesitated before giving it to Dawn. "I'm not entirely sure you made a lot of progress today," he said.

"Give it to me," Dawn demanded.

Gideon thought about it for a moment before saying, "Say something nice."

Dawn sighed. "For a fox, you're… not as ugly as Judy's boyfriend."

Gideon smiled. "I'll take that. I'm telling Nick you said that, too." He handed her the tart, just as the guards arrived to escort Dawn back to her cell.

"See you next week," Gideon said, giving an awkward little wave.

Dawn wasn't sure how to respond, so she didn't.

…

As Dawn made her way back to her cell for the night, she began to nibble on the tart. Maybe it was because the only other thing she had to eat in this prison was the mush they served in the cafeteria, but she couldn't deny how good Gideon's cooking was.

When the sessions had first began, she hadn't been looking forward to seeing that fox's stupid face on a weekly basis. But now that it had been a full month, Dawn had to admit that these sessions were the highlight of her stay in prison.

But only for the food, of course.

Dawn went over to her bed, trying to see if she could organize the bedsheets in a way that could be considered somewhat comfortable. When suddenly, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

There was a bright light flashing on the bars of her window. Dawn didn't see anybody, but it seemed as if someone was hiding just out of sight with a flashlight.

The light had flashed twice, rapidly. And now the light was holding on for a longer period of time, almost a full second. And then again. And again. It was almost like…

Morse code.

Realizing what was going on, Dawn paid attention to the light. She didn't have a pencil or paper with her, but she did have a very strong memory.

Eventually, the blinking stopped for good. And Dawn was left alone with a simple message.

'2 WEEKS FROM TODAY. BE READY.'


	15. The Realization

Chapter Fifteen: The Realization

Author's Note: Just a little heads up; Not only is this chapter going to be pretty long, but the next chapter is going to be pretty short. I tried to find a way to move stuff from this chapter into the next one to balance it out, but the pacing just didn't work. Hopefully, you won't mind too much.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

…

Today, Judy and Nick had the day off. Nick had decided to meet up with Finnick for a couple rounds of pool. Judy had decided to take a little field trip, to get a little more information on the Bellwether case.

She had never been to Deerbrooke County before, but when she looked it up, she found that it was a fairly short train ride away from Zootopia.

When she got there, her first impression was that it reminded her a lot of Bunnyburrow, but with more of a rustic and colonial feel to it. She looked for the house Dawn had grown up in, but the door was locked and the house was completely vacant. It seemed that Laurence Bellwether had a solid amount of money, but that was all she was able to deduce.

Eventually, her search led her to a pottery shop on the eastern side of town. There were about half a dozen customers inside, and behind the counter was the mammal Judy was hoping to see. Fiona Hoggle, all grown up. She appeared to be in her mid 30's and was surprisingly slender for a pig. She had a tuft of hair with streaks of neon green, and she wore hoop earrings.

She looked up from the cash register and saw Judy standing there. "Can I help you, mam?"

"Are you Fiona Hoggle?" Judy asked.

Fiona nodded. "That's right. If you're interested in our products, we have an impressive variety, dating back to-"

Judy shook her head, "No, no… that's not why I'm here. You see, my name is Judy Hopps. I'm from the ZPD."

Fiona looked momentarily confused, then she slowly nodded. "Oh, yes. The rabbit officer. I heard about you in the papers. I'm flattered. So, what are you doing all the way in Deerbrooke County? Is there some sort of robbery I don't know about?"

"No, nothing like that. I want to ask about you."

"…About me?" Fiona asked, beginning to look nervous.

Judy decided to get right to the point. "Fiona, is it true that when you were in high school, you were friends with a ewe by the name of Dawn Bellwether?"

At the mention of that name, Fiona went white. "Oh my God. Look, I don't know anything, I swear! I haven't seen her in years, I never…"

"Easy, easy." Judy said, trying to calm the pig's nerves. "I'm not here to arrest you or anything. I know that you weren't involved in her plan."

"Oh…" Fiona said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Judy continued. "Currently, Miss Bellwether is in Kingstone Prison in Sahara Square, Zootopia. She is currently going through therapy, and she mentioned you. So I thought I would drop by and ask you some questions."

"Why would you want to ask me anything?"

Judy hesitated before saying, "Because we think that she's capable of changing. And according to her, the two of you were best friends. So, if there's anyone who can offer us insight into why she is the way she is, it's you."

Fiona looked around, apprehensively, then sighed. "Well, I don't really know what to say. I met Dawn when we were in high school. She was the daughter of the local judge. Her father was a real bigot. Very anti-predator. But then again, there were a lot of bigots living in that town at the time, so it didn't really matter. Anyway, Dawn got bullied a lot. Mostly for being short, but also for being a know-it-all. As if being smart is a bad thing. High school can be dumb sometimes." At that, Judy nodded her head in agreement.

"Anyway, I felt bad for her," Fiona continued. "I helped her be a little more confident. In return, she helped boost my grades up. She was always the top student. She was also a genuinely nice mammal. At least, that was my impression of her at the time. I knew she was dealing with a lot of family trouble, and she had a number of health issues. But she always tried to stay positive."

There was a pause. Fiona looked somewhat reluctant before saying, "You gotta understand, I haven't seen her in years. Last time I saw her, she was leaving for college. We emailed a couple of times but we didn't keep in touch very well. Then I heard on the news that she became Assistant Mayor, and I remember being so happy for her. Everybody underestimated her, so it felt good to see her finally get her due. And then she eventually became Mayor. And I was just… so proud of my friend. Until..."

She was looking more uncomfortable by the second. She tried to avoid Judy's gaze. "Just like that, boom. Your former best friend goes from being the mayor of the biggest city in the world to being a criminal mastermind. And I... well, I just didn't see it coming. I mean, I always knew that she didn't like predators, but I never imagined that she was capable of doing those things. And I didn't want to look up too much about what actually went down, because it tarnished how I remembered her." She cleared her throat, trying to avoid becoming too emotional. "Sometimes I just want to remember Dawn as an old friend of mine, instead of what she turned into."

As Fiona finished talking, Judy was making mental notes of everything she just learned. It certainly helped, but she couldn't help but feel that there was a crucial detail that the pig had left out.

"You mentioned that she never liked predators," Judy said. "Did all this hatred come from her father's bigotry, or was there something else involved?"

"…You don't know, do you?"

Fiona nervously glanced around. Some of the other customers in the shop were getting a bit too close for her liking. She leaned in close to Judy and whispered into her ear.

Judy's eyes went wide.

…

As Dawn came in for the fifth session, Gideon could tell that something was different. Already, she seemed a little more relaxed, a little more comfortable. He wasn't entirely sure what brought on this change, but he smiled. "Good afternoon, Miss Bellwether."

She sat down. "Good afternoon, Gideon,"

"You're looking awfully chipper today," he remarked.

"What can I say?" Dawn said in a somewhat sly tone. "When prison life gets this bad, even visits from an ugly fox like you can light up my day."

"Well, that's something, at least." He cleared his throat. "Today, I thought maybe we could talk about-"

Suddenly, there was a buzzing sound. Gideon quickly realized it was his cellphone. "I am so sorry, I should have silenced this." He fumbled with the phone and answered it, accidentally putting it on speaker in the process. "Hello?"

"Gideon?" The voice was female, and sounded middle-aged. "Are you okay? You never answer your calls anymore…"

"Mom, I..." he stammered. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Why are you calling?"

"I just wanted to say 'Hi'," the voice responded.

"Okay, um… is this really the best time? I'm kinda in the middle of something…"

"Where are you anyway? I never see you anymore."

While all this was going on, Dawn was just sitting down, amused by this embarrassing conversation her so-called shrink has having with his mother.

"Well right now, I'm in Zootopia..." Gideon said.

"Zootopia? What in the sam heck are you doing there, Gideon?"

"It's kind of a long story…"

"I don't like you being in that city, Gideon. It's dangerous there. "

"Isn't it supposed to be the best city in the world?" Gideon asked, quizzically.

"Oh, that's just what they say in the advertising." His mother responded. "Bad stuff happens there, believe me. Remember a couple of months ago, when there was that prison break and that sheep Bellwether got out? Lord knows what would happen if you ever ran into someone like that!"

Gideon tried to contain his laughter, but to no avail. And Dawn, realizing the absurdity of the situation, started laughing, too.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing," Gideon said, pulling himself together. "I'll explain later."

"Okay, okay," Said his mother. "Just don't do anything stupid."

"I make no promises..."

"Gideon!"

"Kidding, kidding," Gideon said, blushing a bit. "Bye, mom."

"Bye, sweetie."

Gideon hung up the phone, and put his head in his hands. He was laughing, but he was also pretty embarrassed. Dawn just looked at him, awkwardly.

Eventually, Dawn broke the silence. "Well, your mom seems nice." She then quickly added, "For a predator, of course."

Gideon smiled a bit. It looked like he was finally starting to crack holes in her belief system. "You know, just because my mom and I are predators, that doesn't mean we can't be nice to others."

"I'm sure it must be agony for the both of you to have to pretend," Dawn said in a passive aggressive manner.

Gideon shrugged. "You know, it's funny you should mention that. After I decided to give up bullying, I gotta admit, it was a little bit tricky to get the hang of the whole 'friendly' thing. But after a while, it started to feel easy."

Hearing this, Dawn decided to ask a question that had been on her mind for some time. "Do you ever miss being a bully?"

Gideon looked taken aback by the question. "Um... well, I..." He stammered for a little bit, before eventually letting out a long sigh. "Every once in a while, I'll ask myself if I really made the best choice, by turning my life around. Back in junior high, I was the most feared kid but also the most respected kid." He felt uncomfortable sharing all this, but he had accepted that he needed to share personal secrets about himself, because it was the only way that Dawn would do the same.

"It felt good," he continued. "Knowing that when I walked into a room everyone looked up, and then they all looked away. They all tried to get away from me. I had a whole lunch table to myself in the cafeteria. I didn't have to share with anyone." He tried his hardest to not become overtly emotional. The last thing he needed was for Dawn to start calling him a crybaby. "The first time my mom tried to get me therapy, I remember the guy was talking to me and he said 'Why do you do the things you do?', And I wanted to sound smart, so I quoted that famous line, 'It's better to be feared than loved.'"

At that, he noticed that Dawn was nodding slowly.

"Do you know what he said?" Gideon asked. "' _That's what someone says when nobody loves them_.'"

A few seconds passed. Dawn tried to appear imperturbable, but Gideon could see in her eyes that she was genuinely affected by those words. He gave a soft smile and continued, trying to remember certain key phrases that his therapist had told him. "If you want others to appreciate you, then you've gotta meet them halfway. You've gotta be polite. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated. And after a while, all that good camera... _karma_ , sorry. I'm always forgetting that word. But, it will all turn out right in the end. Because… because if you act friendly, then soon, everyone will want to be your friend..."

"Okay, this is getting a little too corny for me," Dawn said, trying to regain a bit of dignity in what had become a very sentimental conversation. "I don't want to go around making friends with everybody, like you or Judy."

"I don't know, it just seems like you're bitter a lot of the time," Gideon remarked.

Dawn frowned. "That's because of the world, not because of me."

After a few moments, Gideon attempted to change the subject. "Anyway, one thing I was hoping we could talk about today is your relationship with former Mayor Lionhart."

"What about him?" Dawn asked, stoically.

"Well, from what I understand, he didn't exactly treat you very well while you were working for him."

"Oh, that's an understatement," Dawn said. She was beginning to grit her teeth.

"I was hoping you could tell me…" He started to stammer a bit. "Is he the reason why… well, why you did it?"

"Oh no," Dawn said. "I mean… I hated predators long before I met Lionhart, but he was the last straw. He was what made me decide I wasn't going to take this anymore."

"Would you mind going into a little more detail?" Gideon asked.

"There's not much else to say," Dawn responded. "He didn't see me as an equal. Par for the course for most predators. But this one, I was working with 24/7. He constantly yelled at me and forced me to do a ridiculous amount of work."

"Did you ever talk back to him?"

Dawn thought about that for a moment before saying, "Once or twice, in a playful manner. And it never ended well for me. But no, he isn't the reason. Although… I guess you could say he's part of it. The real issue is predators as a whole. The big picture. I decided that innocent prey had suffered under the reign of predators like him for far too long."

"Predators like him?" Gideon asked. "Were there others that treated you poorly?"

"Try every predator I've ever met." Dawn snapped. "When I got to college, there were a lot of preds in those dorms. And because I wanted to go into the world of politics, everyone thought I was a joke. 'Oh look at that cute fluffy little sheep who wants to run the government.'"

She scoffed. "They thought it was so hilarious. Even when I first started working with Lionhart, he had the brilliant idea of selling his campaign as 'the lion and the lamb.' And when I pointed out to him that I was a fully grown ewe, he just shrugged and said, 'Nobody will care about that.' And guess what? Hardly anybody did."

She took a deep breath. "But back on topic. Predators everywhere just saw me as that cute little thing. Like I wasn't actually serious about becoming a politician. And of course, they couldn't get enough of just how _soft_ I was." She spoke that particular word with such horrible disdain.

"Look at this little white puff at the top of my head," she continued. "So tempting, like a piece of cotton candy. I swear, I've never met a single predator who didn't want to put their disgusting claws all over my wool."

"…Well, I didn't." Gideon said.

Dawn opened her mouth to respond, but realized that he had a point. She and Gideon had known each other for some time now. And yet, the only time he had touched her was that brief moment in his shop right before she had been arrested. And even then, she was 80% sure that had been accidental.

"Oh…" she said. "Well, I'm sure you've been tempted."

Gideon hesitated. "I mean… a little, but I respect your boundaries."

There was a long pause. Dawn was staring at Gideon with a hint of confusion in her eyes, as if she was unable to comprehend what she had just heard.

Eventually, she cleared her throat. "I… um… I would like to stress again that I don't know how much of your behavior is an act, but either way…" She looked away from Gideon. "It's clear that you're putting in _some_ effort. Most of the predators I've met can't even pretend to be nice."

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, before an idea popped into Gideon's head. "You know, uh…" he began, somewhat nervously. "For what it's worth, I've heard that my fur can be pretty soft. I moisturize every now and then, I try to stay clean-"

"…What's your point?" Dawn interrupted.

After some slight hesitation, Gideon put his arm down flat on the table that separated the two mammals. "You say that predators are always poking you and touching you, and it doesn't feel good? Why not just… do it to me? Like some kind of recursive therapy, or however you want to put it. You're the one in control."

Dawn mused on the idea for a few seconds before Gideon said, "Unless you're scared, of course."

"I'm not scared," Dawn said, a bit too quickly. She reached her hoof out to Gideon's arm, but stopped when she was about an inch away from making contact. Then, she took a deep breath and poked him. She had only touched him for a second before pulling back, as if she were testing the temperature of a hot bath.

Finally, she swallowed her pride and allowed her hoof to rest on Gideon's arm. His fur _was_ surprisingly soft, though not quite as soft as her own wool. She briefly looked up at Gideon and gave him her best menacing glare, almost daring him to move.

She tried not to think too hard about what she was doing. Because in the long run, it didn't matter. If that morse code message was any indication, she would be out of this prison in no time. She would be back to her revenge, back to plans of gaining control and getting rid of predators once and for all.

She was snapped out of her train of thought when she noticed something; Gideon's arm was moving, but not closer to her and not further away. Instead, he was turning his arm so that palm faced upward. He was offering his paw to her.

For a moment, neither one said anything. Dawn understood what he wanted her to do, and she decided there was no point in arguing, Slowly, she slid her hoof into Gideon's paw, bracing herself for…

...Wait.

It wasn't unpleasant.

She should have winced. She should have felt uncomfortable... But she didn't.

And yes, there was always that little voice in the back of her head that was trying to stop her from doing it. It shouted that she shouldn't be trusting a predator, that any minute now he could grab her hoof, pull her towards him, flash a menacing smile, and say, 'You're mine now.'

But deep down, she felt that Gideon wasn't going to do it. There was no way he would do something like that with cameras and guards watching. And even if they weren't there, he just didn't seem like the type of mammal who would do that type of thing.

' _But he's a predator_ ,' the little voice said. ' _All predators are monsters. That's a basic fact of life_.'

But something was different about Gideon. He was very aware of her discomfort around predators, and yet here he was, willingly allowing her to make the first move. To be the one in control.

And as she sat there, taking all this information in, she noticed something. Gideon's claws seemed a bit shorter than they had in the previous session, and the tips were noticeably blunter. "Did you… file down your claws?" she asked

"Yeah," Gideon said. "I thought it might make you feel a little more comfortable."

Slowly Dawn raised her head and looked into Gideon's eyes. It didn't seem like he was lying. Hesitantly, she asked, "...Did it hurt?"

Gideon shrugged. "Not really. It felt just like cutting fur."

Dawn contemplated that for a moment before asking, "Why don't more predators do it, then?"

"...I don't know," he responded.

The two of them sat in silence for a long time, holding hands, neither one of them moving. After a while, Gideon started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" asked Dawn.

"Nothing, it's just… I haven't seen you smile in a long time."

Dawn hadn't even realized she was smiling. She quickly let go of Gideon's paw and tried to regain her composure.

Just then, the alarm on Gideon's phone buzzed; this session was over. "Well, that felt quick," he said before reaching into his bag. 'I think we really made some good progress today. You've earned this cinnamon roll."

Dawn accepted the treat, but she wasn't looking at Gideon. Her mind was currently all over the place.

"What's the matter?" Gideon asked. "Do you not like cinnamon? I can change it-"

"No, no. That's fine."

"…Maybe you can put in a request for next time?" Gideon suggested.

"Oh, um…" she tried to think of something, wanting the session to be over as quickly as possible. "Maybe one of those peach tarts. I like the raspberry one you did."

"Will do," Gideon said. Then he turned to leave, but he stopped and looked back. "Uh... I want you to know, I like these meetings, Miss Bellwether."

"Of course you would," Dawn muttered under her breath.

"No, I mean it. I don't ever want you to think that I'm trying to take advantage of you," he said earnestly. "I want to help you, Miss Bellwether. I want to help you become the best version of yourself."

Dawn was finally able to pull herself together long enough to look Gideon in the eye. "Well, thank you for your help," she said. "See you next week."

And the two of them parted ways.

…

Dawn was pacing back in forth in her cell, trying to make sense of everything.

When she had first met Gideon, she had brushed aside his pleasant demeanor as a simple act. But the more time she spent with him, it was getting harder and harder to make that justification.

When the 'sessions' had started, Dawn was simply trying to humor him. While she would occasionally toss in playful insults, she never went to quite the extreme she had on that day, five weeks ago. She did this because she didn't want to put up with a crying fit from him, not because she felt sorry for him or anything.

She insisted to herself that the only reason she put up with the sessions was for the food. At this point, she had come to accept the fact that Gideon really had cooked everything himself. But still, that didn't change anything. Just because he was a talented chef, that didn't make him a good mammal.

But why was he treating her this way? Why did he let her touch him like that? Why was he constantly defending her despite the fact that she treated him like garbage?

…Why had he filed down his claws? It was such a small thing that Dawn probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise, but Gideon had gone out of his way to make her feel comfortable in his presence. Predators weren't supposed to care about prey. Predators weren't supposed to care about _anything_.

The fact was, not only was Gideon the kindest predator she had ever met, he was also one of the kindest _mammals_ she had ever met, period. With the exception of her own father, she couldn't remember the last time a mammal had been so unconditionally nice to her. There was something about him that made it so easy for her to trust him. Like she could let down her guard and be herself.

Like she didn't need to be afraid.

'You need to stop this,' Dawn thought to herself. 'I mean for God's sake, you're almost starting to sound like…'

And then the realization came.

Dawn suddenly felt very lightheaded and had to grab onto the bed frame to avoid passing out.

No. This _wasn't_ happening. It couldn't be. After everything she had been through, this simply _could not_ be happening.

Surely, all this time in prison had made her go a bit mad. She would gladly accept madness over the alternative. She had to calm down. She had to pull herself together.

After all, she was one of the greatest heroes in the history of prey rights.

There was no way in hell she was falling in love with a predator.


	16. Second-Guessing

Chapter Sixteen: Second-Guessing

Author's Note: So, this chapter was tricky. It's essentially a 'bridge' chapter, coming right in between chapters 15 and 17, both of which are key moments in the story. As a result, this chapter is noticeably shorter than usual. Sorry about that.

By the way, Chapter 17 is already pre-written. So maybe I'll use the extra time I have in the upcoming week to _finally_ finish Z-Harmony.

Oh, and one more thing; _Night In The Woods_ is an incredible game. Just be aware that it will make you feel like crying for a month.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

…

"Wait, wait…" Nick said, "Are you absolutely sure that's what she told you?"

"I don't mishear things, Nick," Judy said, compulsively gesturing to her ears. "And don't ask me to repeat it."

"Jeez…" Nick sighed, and looked out the window, lost in thought. "Sometimes you forget just how messed up the world really is."

After a few moments, Judy said, "What do we do, Nick?"

"Well, I don't know if you've seen the tapes of the latest session, but…" He shrugged, "I can't believe it, but you were right."

Judy smirked. "If I had a nickel for every time you said that to me,"

"Oh, shut up." Nick said, defensively. "But anyway, it does actually look like she's making real progress. I mean, slowly but surely, she's letting down her guard. And she goes out of her way to insult Gideon any time he strikes a chord in her. I swear, she is two steps away from becoming a _tsundere_ at this point."

"So, we know that the sessions are working," Judy said, nodding. "If we could just get her to talk about what happened, it would be a massive step in the right direction."

The two cops thought about that for a few seconds, before Nick spoke up. "Judy, you do realize… what happened to her, as bad as it was, it doesn't excuse what she did to the whole city."

"No," Judy said, firmly. "But it does explain it."

…

As strange as it seemed, Gideon had to admit that his sessions with Dawn Bellwether were the highlight of his week.

Every time he met with her, he got a little more insight into the kind of mammal she really was. He knew that her prejudice and hatred couldn't have come out of nowhere. He already knew a lot of details about her past, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing a very important piece of the puzzle.

He felt that if he just kept working with her for a couple more weeks, then she would eventually realize the error of her ways. She was clearly a very smart mammal. Surely it would only be a matter of time before she started to see common sense.

He remembered an encounter he had with his mother after the last session. He had mentioned something incredibly vague about helping Judy and Nick with some cop-related work, and even that had been too much for his mom to handle. He could only imagine how she would react if he told her that he was spending every Saturday with one of the most dangerous criminal masterminds on the planet.

By all logic, Gideon should have been afraid of her. But somehow, he wasn't.

…

By all logic, Dawn should have been afraid of him. But somehow, she wasn't.

This was the first thing on her mind as she woke up on the day of the sixth session. There was also a chance that today would be the day that she would be broken out of jail. However, security seemed tighter than ever, and to be perfectly honest, Dawn wasn't even sure whether or not the whole 'morse code' thing had been real. There was a strong possibility that she had just been imagining it.

Earlier, she would have adamantly refused to consider the possibility that she was losing her mind. But after that last session, she couldn't be sure.

She reached around in the dark, feeling for the glasses that she was practically blind without. Ever since she was young, she needed a very specific prescription in order to see properly. This was probably due to her round pupils, which was a rarity in her species. It wasn't a big deal to her, but it certainly made her feel awkward in family get-togethers.

Finding her glasses, she put them on and got back to thinking about what the real issue of the day was. How to navigate the next session with that dumb fox, who was either the world's nicest predator or the world's greatest actor.

Previously, whenever she had been in a session with Gideon, she hadn't seen anything wrong with giving him a little bit of information about herself. After all, she was just humoring him, and that there was no real risk involved. But now, she couldn't deny that these sessions were having a very real effect on her. She definitely _did not_ have a crush on him, but she couldn't stop thinking about him, no matter how hard she tried.

There was something so cathardic about talking to a predator that was actually nice for once. If he _hadn't_ been a predator, Dawn could easily see herself becoming friends with him. After all, he wasn't _just_ kind. He was also funny, a good listener, a talented chef, and those big, blue eyes of his were just-

Dawn smacked herself in the face. What the hell was she thinking? There was no point in thinking about 'what ifs'. Gideon Grey was a predator, plain and simple. Besides, if she ever _did_ get out of this prison, she would never see him again. Unless maybe she found a way to keep him as a sort of slave to her, to illustrate the dominance that prey could have over predators.

Either way, one thing was clear. It was time for the tables to turn.

…

Judy decided to meet up with Gideon before the sixth session began. Normally, she wouldn't bother driving all the way out to Kingstone Prison for the day; she could just watch the tapes later. But today, Judy thought it would be best for her to talk to Gideon in advance.

She was right in the middle of debating just how much information she should tell him, when he walked through the door. "Good afternoon, Judy," he said. "I don't usually see you before these sessions."

Judy tried to hide her anxiousness. "Good afternoon, Gideon. As it happens, there's something I need to tell you about."

"Go on," Gideon said.

Judy hesitated a bit before asking, "Do you remember two sessions ago, when Miss Bellwether mentioned a friend named Fiona Hoggle?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I did some digging of my own, and I was able to speak with her."

Gideon's ears perked up. "What did she have to say?"

"I don't want to bore you with the details but there was one part in particular…" She pulled herself together. "In today's meeting, you should… ask her about the name Chad Lancer."

"Who's he?"

"I think it would be best if you heard it from her," Judy said earnestly. "Just… please remember to be as gentle as possible."

"I always try to do that," Gideon said. And with that, he gave Judy a little wave before heading into the meeting room.

Shortly afterward, the guards came around the corner, with Dawn Bellwether in tow. She had a particularly nasty expression on her face today.

"Good afternoon, Miss Bellwether," Judy said, trying to appear chipper.

"It is not a good afternoon, Judy," Dawn said with a sneer. "Any afternoon that I'm forced to spend with that scumbag of a fox is sure to be an awful one."

"I thought you two were getting along well," Judy remarked.

"Well, you thought wrong." It looked like Dawn was on the verge of shouting, but she managed to calm down a bit. "Look, Judy… You said you wanted to be my friend, right?"

"That wasn't exactly what I said…" Judy began.

But Dawn ignored her. "Well, I could _really_ use a friend right about now. Here's what I want you to do." She took a deep breath. "Get rid of Gideon. Please."

Judy was slightly confused. "It seemed like you were making good progress."

"Just get somebody else," Dawn said, scowling. "Anybody else. Even if it's another predator, it's got to be better than him."

"What's wrong with him?"

Dawn avoided Judy's gaze, looking bitter. "I don't know what kind of game he's playing. I don't know if you're involved in it or not. But I can't bear to look at that face of his for one more second."

"But Dawn, after that last session..."

"Did I give you permission to use my first name?!" she yelled.

Judy attempted to use a calmer tone. "Miss Bellwether, please listen to me. Gideon is already here. Just go ahead and meet with him, and we'll just see how the meeting goes. If it goes poorly, then we can think about getting a new therapist. But as of right now, I see no reason to get rid of Gideon."

There was a long pause before Dawn finally accepted defeat. "Fine. I'll go in. It's just…"

"What is it?"

"At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I really hate predators," Dawn said flatly.

"Yes, I know," Judy said. "And I understand where it's coming from, but you need to listen-"

"How could you possibly understand?!" Dawn yelled. "Look at you, you've actually fallen in _love_ with a predator! You're nothing but a traitor, Judy."

Judy was beginning to lose a little patience. "Oh, really? And how exactly did _I_ betray _you_?"

"I wasn't lying when I said us little guys needed to stick together," Dawn said, frustrated. "When I first saw the video of you at police academy, I was blown away by what I was seeing. I could only dream of being that strong, or that fast! I helped you solve the Otterton case because I wanted you to get ahead. Every step of the way, I helped you succeed. But then, at the last minute, you decide you wanted to help the predators!"

Judy frowned. "I wanted to help the citizens of Zootopia, period."

"Predators should not be considered citizens, Judy!" the ewe shouted.

After that, both of them were silent for a few seconds before Judy spoke up. "What about that day, in the museum? When I was in that pit and about to die… why were you smiling?"

Dawn looked up, scowling. "Because in that moment, I saw fear in your eyes. A predator that you had trusted was about to turn on you. You were terrified, helpless, alone. I wanted you to know what that felt like." After a brief pause, she added, "But then it turned out that the two of you were just doing some silly little charade. Like you were mocking me."

Judy had gone quiet. "I… I'm sorry, Miss Bellwether. I…"

"Sorry for what?" Dawn asked. "For stopping my plan? For throwing me in prison? Have you finally come around and accepted the fact that I was right all along?"

"Look, just… go in and meet with Gideon," Judy said, trying to remain professional. "And afterwards I'll talk with the warden about what to do in the future."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Dawn said, giving Judy a black look. "This will be the last session."

And with that, she walked into the meeting room.


	17. The Reason Why

Chapter Seventeen: The Reason Why

Author's Note: Okay, remember how in the very first chapter, I mentioned that one of the chapters was arguably worthy of an 'M' rating? Well, this is that chapter.

Without hesitation, I can tell you that I spent more time working on this chapter than any other chapter in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Zootopia_.

…

When Dawn sat down in the meeting room, Gideon turned to face her. In the split second before he did, she briefly hoped that when she saw the fox's face again, she would instantly be repulsed.

But alas, she wasn't.

"Good afternoon, Miss Bellwether," he said. "How are you feeling today?"

"Absolutely miserable, thanks for asking." Dawn tried to make her voice sound as dry as possible.

But Gideon just smiled, with that charming smile that made him so difficult to hate. "It looks like you've been working on your sense of humor."

"No, I… that wasn't…" Dawn realized she was stammering, which just made her feel worse. Was this dumb fox actually bringing her down to his level?

Gideon sat down opposite her. "Anyhow, I was hoping we could talk about…"

"No."

"What?"

Dawn remained very rigid. "I don't want to talk to you today."

Gideon looked unsure. "Well, gee… if we don't talk, what are we supposed to do? Just sit here quietly for half an hour?"

Dawn didn't want to admit that she found that preferable. "I want you to leave. I don't like this game you've been playing."

"What game?"

"Gideon, I'm smarter than you," Dawn said, simply.

"…Yes, I think we've established that."

Dawn gritted her teeth, staring at Gideon in a way that would make an onlooker question which one of them was the predator. "So why is it that in all this time, I haven't been able to figure you out, and yet… you always seem to know exactly what to say?"

"I don't know," he said with an ironic amount of confidence. "All I know is that I want to help you. But I can't help you if you don't let me."

Dawn let out a deep long sigh. "So help me, then."

After a moment of tense silence, Gideon cleared his throat. "Miss Bellwether, does the name Chad Lancer mean anything to you?"

Dawn froze.

Just like that, something in her brain seemed to stop functioning. All her concerns about Gideon, or escaping the prison... it all faded away in the blink of an eye.

 _Chad Lancer._

She hadn't heard that name in twenty years.

…

"Hey there. Name's Chad Lancer," the tiger said. "And this is my buddy, Rex." He gestured to the wolf beside him, who was currently too busy with his cigarette to pay any attention. "Now, what are you two girls doing in a place like this?"

Dawn nervously glanced at Fiona, who was trying to play it as cool as possible. "What, do we not look like we belong in a place like this?" the pig asked.

"No, you don't," Chad said frankly. "This place is an 18 and over club."

Dawn crossed her arms and gave a smug smile. "I'm 21."

Upon hearing this, Chad laughed out loud. Fiona leaned down and whispered in the ewe's ear, "You're a terrible liar."

Dawn groaned. "All right, fine. I'm 16. And for the record, I'm not that bad a liar. I made those fake IDs, didn't I?"

"Look, I'm gonna be honest. I don't really care about the rules in this place." Chad said, handing some beers to the smaller girls. "You should stay. I think you girls are damn cute."

Dawn awkwardly blushed, but Fiona just groaned. "I am not that kind of cute. Just because I'm a prey mammal, doesn't mean I'm helpless. Here, watch." She pointed at Rex, who was just finishing his cigarette. "You, me. On the dance floor. Come on," she said in a commanding voice. Rex just shrugged and the two mammals walked away.

Chad started laughing again while watching the wolf and pig, who were dancing surprisingly well. "Damn," he said. "That friend of yours sure is something."

"Yeah, she is…" Dawn hoped she didn't look as meek as she felt.

After a few moments, Chad asked, "What do you make of all these interspecies relationships going around?"

Dawn shrugged. "I mean, I don't take much of an issue with it myself. My dad, though… that's another story. Right now, he thinks I'm at Fiona's house studying. He'd kill me if he knew I was hanging out with predators."

"Oh yeah?" Chad said, interested.

"His mind is still in the stone age. He thinks all predators are waiting for the right opportunity to start eating us again."

"…And what do _you_ think?"

Dawn paused. This was a topic that she had been thinking about a lot recently. She had never met a predator face to face before tonight, but she had heard a lot about them. Not just from her father, but from her teachers and schoolmates at Deerbrooke High. The general common consensus seemed to be that predators were much worse than prey. But tonight… Dawn was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, stop me if this sounds too controversial, but… I think predators are kinda hot."

Chad smiled. "Good answer."

…

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Dawn managed to pull herself together enough to ask, "Who told you that name?"

"Judy did," Gideon said. "Look, I want you to know that you can tell me anything…"

Dawn stood up, angry. "How long has Judy known?"

"I don't know," Gideon said, defensively. "Listen, all she told me was the name. I don't know anything else."

"Good, because there's nothing to say." It was all Dawn could do to keep from screaming. "Chad Lancer was an asshole who died in prison _years_ ago. He's not relevant."

"Well, I have a feeling that's not true..."

But Dawn cut him off. "Besides, he's not the one you want to talk about, is he?" It appeared as though there were fire in her eyes. "He's not the one you're trying to understand. He's not the one who you've spent the last month and a half trying to drill into their brain." She got up right in Gideon's face. "I am not your test subject!" she yelled.

"I never said you were, I just..."

"You just _what_?" Dawn snarled at him.

"...I just want to know why you are the way you are," Gideon said, weakly.

There was a long pause before Dawn started to slowly nod her head. "Why am the way I am," she repeated. "Why I hate predators. Why I committed a terrible crime. _Why I did it_. That's your question. That's the real question." She started to breathe very heavily and very deeply. "Well, Gideon Grey, are you _absolutely sure_ you want the answer?"

And then something happened.

A single tear appeared in the corner of Dawn's eye.

…

Dawn was feeling tipsy from the drinks. She was starting to wonder if this little detour was really necessary.

As if reading her mind, Chad said, "Relax, it's nothing to worry about. I'm just gonna make a quick stop at my place, and then I'll take you straight home."

"Okay, just… make sure Dad doesn't see you."

"Don't worry, I know how to keep quiet."

When they arrived at Chad's house, Dawn was surprised to see the poor state of his living conditions. The house was very small, and half of the windows were cracked.

"You live here?" Dawn asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Chad said with a shrug. "It's not exactly a palace, but it's the best place I could afford, living on my own and all that."

"Wait, so… you don't live with your parents?"

Chad scoffed. "Wow, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

They pulled up in the driveway and Chad insisted that she come in. Dawn, not wanting to be rude, entered the house. But she wasn't prepared for what she saw inside.

Drugs.

There were a ridiculous amount of drugs in this house. On tables, on shelves, or even just randomly on the floor. Most of them had labels on them, or even… price tags.

"Do you sell these?" Dawn asked, in shock.

Chad didn't see the big deal. "I gotta make a living somehow. Besides, some mammals live for this shit."

"And some mammas _die_ because of it," Dawn said, trying to keep calm. "This is illegal."

The tiger just laughed. "You're one to talk, little miss 'sneaking out after curfew'."

"This isn't funny," Dawn said, firmly. "You could go to jail."

Chad turned around, and then walked right up to Dawn, towering over her. "Oh yeah? And who's gonna believe you?"

Dawn tried not to feel intimidated. "My father, for one. Did I mention he's a judge?"

"He's also a sheep. And I don't let sheep tell me what to do."

Dawn was taken aback by the tiger's rudeness. "How dare you!" she yelled. "Nobody disrespects me or my father like that! If I tell him, he could have you arrested-"

But before Dawn could finish, she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Chad had grabbed her with his claw and was holding her several feet above the floor. He took a second to smile at the terrified look on her face, and before Dawn should even comprehend what was happening, her body was being flung into the air. Her back hit the wall and she could feel something being fractured. Then she fell to the ground, creating more bruises in the process.

He had just thrown her across the room like she was nothing. And it had only taken him one hand to do it.

Dawn couldn't speak, she couldn't even think.

Chad just stood there in the corner, laughing. "You know what's so cute about you? That you actually think you have any sort of power over me. It's adorable."

Dawn was trembling. "Get away from me…"

"Or what, you'll _baa_ me to death?"

"You're scaring me!"

This just made Chad laugh harder. "Gee, it's almost like predators are stronger than prey! But hey, I can't imagine where you'd get _that_ idea from your history books."

"Back away right now!"

Chad just stood there, staring at her with an unflinching gaze. "I think I'll just stand here. I'm curious to see if you can even get up."

Dawn tried to focus. She took a deep breath and attempted to move herself. It hurt like hell, but eventually managed to stand up.

"Well, well. You're full of surprises," Chad's smile was looking more devious by the moment, but he surprised Dawn by saying, "You can go."

Dawn took one step to her door. Her hooves felt awful, and she had bruises all over her body, but by God, she would make it home.

One more step, and then another. She didn't even care if her dad punished her at this point.

Finally, she got to the door. For a split second she was worried that she wouldn't be able to reach the doorknob, but when she stood on the very tips of her hooves, she was able to grab it. The door opened. She felt the cool air against her wool. It felt refreshing.

She turned back to face Chad, one last time. He was just standing in the corner, as smug as ever.

Dawn looked at him and, with what little dignity she had left, she said, "For the record, us prey… we're not as weak as you think we are."

And with that, Dawn turned to leave. But somehow, in the span of only a few seconds, Chad was right next to her, and he put his paws on the door. Dawn didn't have the strength or speed needed in order to escape. In an instant, the door was closed and locked. And the cool breeze of the outside was gone.

"You are so pathetic," Chad said, disdainfully. His paw began to reach down to touch her as he spoke. "So stubborn. So puny. So… _soft_." He ran his paw along the side of her body. "Yes, somebody needs to teach you how the world works."

Dawn had never been so terrified in her life.

"What are you going to do? Kill me?"

Chad just laughed with that same old hearty laugh he had used all throughout the night. "Of course not! Why would I ever do something stupid like that?"

He smiled and leaned in closer.

"I'm going to fuck you."

…

Dawn couldn't stop crying.

She was on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably and hyperventilating like mad. Her eyes were wide, but they weren't looking in any direction in particular. She looked like she was lost in a trance. A trance that she desperately wanted to be out of.

Gideon didn't know what to do, but he felt like he had to do something. So he approached her in the gentlest way possible. "Dawn, it's okay," he said slowly. "You can talk to me. You can tell me. I know it's hard for you, but…" he swallowed, doubting himself a bit. "Trust me, I… I've been through hard times, I know what it's like-"

"NO, YOU DON'T!"

She had screamed that at the top of her lungs. She stared at Gideon. Her eyes were cold and angry. "No. You. Don't."

She wiped the tears off her face and stood up. Almost instantly, it was as if she had never been crying at all. Now she was just angry. Very, very angry. "You don't know what I've been through, Gideon Grey," she snarled at him in the most vicious way possible.

"You think your life is hard?" she continued. "You think your life is unfair? What about my life? You think you know what pain is? Real pain? The worst pain you could possibly imagine, do you think you have _any idea_ what that feels like?!"

Dawn hadn't been honest about her past in a very long time. And now, like her tears, the truth was coming out all at once.

"And it never ends," she went on. "…It never ends. And even when it does end, it doesn't feel like it's over. It feels like it's still going on. Like you're always reliving it, moment after moment in your mind! Like you're trapped in some eternal hell!"

Slowly but surely, the anger was fading and the sadness was coming back. "And time goes on. And they expect you to pull yourself together, and get over it. It was years ago, after all. But you can't get over it. So you decide that you're going to be a politician. You're sure it's the only way to…" She snuck a glance at the security camera, because she knew Judy was watching. "…To make the world a better place."

Dawn continued. "The only problem is it involves moving to Zootopia. Where 'anybody can be anything'. A city where 10% of the population are predators. And every time you see them, you have to look the other way. But they're everywhere. And you're terrified! Terrified of every fang, every claw, because you know what they feel like against your flesh!"

She managed to calm herself down slightly. "And then, one day, you meet Lionhart, and you find out you're going to work with him. And it's a terrible deal, but it's the best one you've got. So, you work with him. And in no time at all, you end up becoming the Assistant Mayor of Zootopia. Happy Ending, right?" she said, giving a fake smile.

Then she scowled. "Except, you're not treated like an Assistant Mayor. You're treated like a goddamned toy! You're forced to work in a _cupboard_ , and you get an overload of work to do, day after day. Non-stop work with no credit. But you don't complain. You never complain. Because you don't know what's going to happen to you if you complain, and by God, you are not going to take that chance!"

She looked like she was on the verge of crying again. "So you just have to take it. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Imagine that, spending every day terrified and powerless. Spending most nights in your apartment alone, crying yourself to sleep."

She took a deep breath. "And then one day, I..." She paused. She seemed to be making a conscious decision to stop talking in the second person. "One day I happened to come across an old video. From some obscure documentary on a plant called Midnicampum holicithias. And in the video, they're saying, 'Watch the effects of this serum on this grizzly bear. Watch how it gets down on all fours. Crawling and scratching. Completely mindless.' But when I watched the video, I saw no difference. It just looked like your typical predator to me. And that's when the idea came; what if there was a way I could get everyone else to see what I see?"

By this point, Dawn had completely regained her composure and she was back to being cold and stoic. "The predators were just as dangerous as they'd always been, but now everybody else could see it too. And they were saying we had to take drastic measurements to get rid of these predators once and for all! For the first time in my life, I was in control. I wasn't afraid. I wasn't alone. I was _happy_ … and then it all fell apart."

She paused for a very long time, staring down at the floor. Gideon was beginning to wonder if he should say something. He cleared his throat, but then Dawn gave him a look. A look of bitterness.

She spoke slowly. "Did I break a few laws? Sure. Did I occasionally go a step too far? Perhaps. But I refuse to apologize for what I did. I regret none of it."

That was where she left it. That was the last word.

Even though Gideon wasn't the smartest mammal out there, the context clues were enough for him to pick up on what exactly happened to her all those years ago.

Gideon never liked to believe that there were truly bad mammals out there. He was sure that there were a few. (This Chad Lancer certainly seemed like a candidate.) But even before he had met Dawn, he never believed that _she_ was bad. He always had a feeling, right from the very beginning, that she was a deeply troubled mammal. He had once been like that, but not nearly to the extreme that she was.

And now, here was the proof. She was damaged, quite possibly beyond repair. Whatever fear or hesitation he had with him before completely vanished after her breakdown. Now, he just felt sorry for her.

He slowly moved towards her, attempting to comfort her. "Dawn, I…"

"Don't touch me!" she yelled, turning around. " _Never touch me again!_ "

At that moment, the lights suddenly went out.


	18. The Way It Should Be

Chapter Eighteen: The Way It Should Be

Author's Note: So, that last chapter was a little controversial, as I was secretly hoping it would be. I'm going to expand on a few more details in this chapter, but I want you to know why I felt it necessary to write that scene.

In the film, we see that Nick and Judy have very different world views. And we see through flashbacks that Judy's subtle prejudice and Nick's bleak view on reality both stem from a specific incident in their past when they were bullied. It occurred to me that in order for Dawn Bellwether to have the worldview that she does, something much worse must have happened to her. And seeing how the Ranger Scouts scene is already really dark for a Disney film, then whatever happened to Dawn would have to be so bad that Disney couldn't show it. The idea came naturally.

The hard part was figuring out how to relay this information to the reader. The first draft of the scene was way too graphic and I realized that it would make a lot of people want to stop reading. So, I toyed with the idea of having Dawn just tell Gideon what happened, or even having the reader find out when Judy did. But when I tried to do that, it always felt like I was just using shock value for the purpose of shock value. I knew the scene needed to have an emotional impact, and the only way to do that was to put the reader in the moment.

It took a lot of different drafts before we got the final version of the chapter, where we build up to the action but don't actually show it, and then Dawn gives a speech declaring how her life led from that point to where she is during the movie. As a writer, that chapter is one of my proudest accomplishments.

Speaking of proud accomplishments, this project has officially hit the 50,000 word mark, which means I have officially written a NOVEL. I cannot tell you how excited I am, and I want to thank all my readers for showing support.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Zootopia_.

…

It took Dawn a few seconds to regain her bearings once the lights went out. She wasn't sure what had happened, and for a moment, she thought she might be losing her mind. (Which was understandable given the circumstances.)

But then she heard someone call out "Bellwether! It's okay, we've got you." And when she turned around, she felt someone grabbing her hoof. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could barely make out the face of a male deer. "Come on!" he shouted.

Everything happened so fast. Dawn barely had any time to think. She just ran as fast as she could alongside the deer, while hearing a lot of fighting noises going on in the background. There was even the faint sound of bullets.

One thing was clear; Doug had certainly been busy for the past few months.

Soon, they made it outside. A large van was parked on the grass, and there was Doug. With Jesse. And Woolter. And a bunch of other prey mammals that she didn't recognize.

Amidst a sea of fighting and gunfire, Dawn jumped into the back seat of the van, and no sooner than she had, the door was closed and the van was driving off at 70 mph.

Dawn barely had a second to catch her breath before everyone else in the van started applauding. As she looked around the van, she saw that it was all prey, ranging from mice to deer. And from the driver's seat, Doug was smiling widely. "Boss! Great to see you again!"

"Same," Dawn said, still a little flustered from all the action. "So, who are all these guys?"

"Prey supremacists," Doug said. "What, you didn't think I was doing nothing for the past four months, did you?"

Jesse leaned over from the passenger seat. "We figured it wouldn't do us any good to break you out again unless we had an actual plan this time. No offence, boss."

"None taken," Dawn said.

Doug started explaining the plan to her. "We've been looking all around Zootopia, and even beyond the city limits, trying to find prey who are willing to fight for our cause. Now some of them might be a bit loopy, but that's all right. We're the brains, they're the brawn." He paused and then added, "Except for Simon and Flo. They're basically here for moral support."

The two mice sitting by the cupholder both gave Dawn an enthusiastic thumbs up motion.

"We're also laying dynamite around every major prison in the city," Doug continued. "That should keep the cops busy for a while."

Dawn let all this information sink in. "Wow, you really put a lot of thought into this, huh?"

"Of course I did!" Doug said. "This is a full scale-revolution, after all. This is what you wanted."

"Yes, yes it is." Dawn said, slowly. After a moment, she snapped out of her train of thought. "So anyway, thank you so much for breaking me out."

"Can't have a revolution without a leader," Doug replied.

"Well you really saved me," Dawn admitted. "They were trying to do some weird conversion therapy thing."

Doug's eyebrow widened a bit. "Conversion therapy?"

Dawn was beginning to notice that some of the other prey mammals in the vehicle were listening in. Even though they could sense that the conversation was private, there wasn't really any way they could ignore it.

"They brought in this predator," Dawn said, choosing her words very carefully. "And they got him to be the nicest guy on the face of the earth. Trying to get me to see the error of my ways. Obviously, he was an actor. But he was a really, really, good one. Seriously, a few more weeks and I might have broken."

There were a few nods in agreement, a few scoffs. But the most vocal response came from Woolter. "That's kinda weak, though. "

"What?"

Woolter was chuckling a bit. "You're telling me, you would have given up on your ideals, because one predator was acting nice to you?"

Doug spoke up. "Woolter, shut the hell up! You don't get to talk to the boss like that."

Dawn tried to act like she wasn't bothered. "All I'm saying is, it's rare to see a predator acting gentle. It was… an interesting change. Plus, I've been in prison for a while, and my mind… Well, I was starting to think that maybe I am crazy, just like everyone says I am."

"You're not crazy, boss," Doug said. "And try not to think about that before we get to our destination."

"Destination?" Dawn asked, curious.

"It's a surprise."

Dawn didn't question it. It was evident that Doug had gotten to be very good at planning. Plus, if there was ever a mammal that she could have no problem trusting, it was Doug.

But for the life of her, Dawn couldn't figure out why she wasn't feeling happier about the situation.

…

Back in the prison, the backup power had come on.

Everything had happened very fast. Judy had briefly been locked in the room. She called Nick, who immediately jumped into his police cruiser and headed over to the prison. Then she called Bogo, and that's when she learned just how dire the situation was.

And then, just as quickly as it started, it was over. The culprits were gone and a good chunk of the prisoners had escaped. But what was really troubling her was the fact that Kingstone was just one of five major prisons in the city where a massive break-out had occurred. Either the mastermind wasn't sure which prison Bellwether was in, or they had deliberately gone overboard as a distraction method. If that was the case, it was working.

"Yes, sir. We're on our way." Judy hung up the police radio, hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

Nick came running into the room, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Judy said. "But this is bad. Really bad. And even if we do catch most of the convicts, we're not gonna have enough holding cells to keep them!"

"That's like, problem #5 right now," Nick said, urgently. "Right now, I think our top priority should be getting Bellwether back. This is the second time that someone has broken her out of prison in six months, and that's clearly not a coincidence."

Judy nodded. "Well, she couldn't have gone far. Bogo's got every cop in the city on duty for this, but they're mostly focused on the other criminals. I think our first move should be to follow her tracks. I'll send a message to-"

Just then, the door opened and Gideon came in. "Judy! Nick!"

"You're okay!" Judy said, relieved.

"You think you can tell me what in the world is going on?"

"We don't know much more than you," Nick said. "What's important is Bellwether is out and we need to track her down before things get worse."

"...It's my fault."

Judy blinked. "What?"

Gideon looked down. "As a fox, I have good night vision. I saw her and this deer, running away. I could have run after her. I could have got her." He sniffled a bit, "But I just couldn't move. I panicked. I was still reeling from everything she just told me. It was just one thing on top of another. I was stunned." He looked up, with a remorseful look in his eyes. "And you know what the funny thing is? There was a part of me that didn't want me to grab her. Like, I didn't want to cause her any more pain."

Judy shook her head. "It's not your fault, Gideon," She said. "We were all blindsided just now."

Nick added, "Besides, you don't need to feel sorry for her."

"I mean, how can you not?" Gideon asked.

"She was willing to let so many predators die," Nick said flatly. "And as tragic as her past might be, it doesn't change what she did. It doesn't make her right."

"But she was pushed to the breaking point!" Gideon said. "After going through all that, I would have a lot of hatred in my heart, too! And besides, she's changing. I really think that-"

"She's not sorry," Nick interrupted. "She admitted it herself. Look, she's past the point of no return!"

"Guys!" Judy intervened. "Arguing isn't going to do anybody any favors. Let's just focus on finding her."

Judy was glad to have ended the little squabble, partially because time was of the essence and partially because she wasn't entirely sure whether she agreed with Nick or Gideon. It was a complicated issue.

Just as she and Nick were about to head out, Gideon nervously cleared his throat. "Uh… is it all right if I tag along?"

The two officers briefly exchanged worried glances before Judy said, "Gideon, we're grateful for everything you've done. But now things are getting dangerous. Just go home. We can take care of this, don't worry."

Gideon seemed to understand, but he had a melancholy look in his eyes. "If you find her, just… please don't hurt her."

"We'll try," Judy said.

…

Wherever Doug was going, it was taking a while to get there. This gave Dawn plenty of time to think.

That last 'session' had been a lot for her. That dumb fox had somehow gotten her to crack. He made her think about _that night_.

Even though she hadn't directly thought about that night in years, those memories never truly left her subconscious. They were always eating her up inside. But she had never talked about them. All those years ago, her father wanted her to seek a therapist, but Dawn had stubbornly insisted that she would rather forget about the incident entirely.

The only time she had even spoken about the incident was the morning after it happened. When she had come limping home to her father, collapsing into the carpet and crying her eyes out. Her father might not have been the kindest sheep in the world, but he genuinely loved his daughter. He hadn't gotten upset over her sneaking out, he hadn't said 'I told you so.' All he had said was, "Promise me, Dawn, that you will never trust a predator again."

And she had kept that promise.

Her father had fought like hell to find Chad Lancer and bring him to justice. And to his credit, he succeeded. The tiger had an alarming amount of charges against him, good enough to send him to jail. And then, about a year later, he died after receiving a severe beating from another inmate.

All that drama was long over. But the ramifications never went away.

Ever since that night, Dawn had believed very firmly that all predators were heartless monsters. And in the years to come, she would been mistreated and even ridiculed by her boss, Mayor Lionhart. And there were scores of predators who didn't take her seriously. And on the rare occasion that she met a 'nice' predator, she would always chalk it up to them putting on an act, and she wouldn't look any further into it.

Her beliefs never wavered. Not once in twenty years.

And then _he_ came along.

With his stupid goody-two-shoes attitude, and that smile… he didn't seem to realize how nice his smile was. And his eyes. Normally when she looked into the eyes of a predator, they were shallow and cold. But his eyes were different. She saw something deep and passionate in those amazing blue eyes of his. These were the eyes of someone real, someone pure. Someone who was just as alone as she was.

 _No_. She couldn't allow herself to think like this. It must have been a trick. Surely Gideon was just an incredible actor trying to trick her into abandoning her own beliefs. He couldn't be that genuine. He just couldn't be.

"I can't believe I almost fell for him," Dawn muttered to herself.

"Him?" Doug asked.

Dawn hadn't realized that she was thinking out loud. "It," she corrected herself. "I can't believe I almost fell for it. The trick they were playing."

Doug didn't seem entirely convinced, but he shrugged. "Whatever, boss. You should relax. We're gonna be there in about half an hour."

Dawn sat back and took several deep breaths. It was fine. She could do this. She just needed to forget about the stupid fox and everything would be fine.

After all, predators were all all monsters. They all deserved to be punished. She couldn't afford to think otherwise, even for a single moment.

She had come too far to start questioning her beliefs now.


	19. The Monster

Chapter Nineteen: The Monster

Author's Note: So, as you may have noticed. I took a week off from the story. I apologize for that, I needed some time to take a break. But I'm back.

So here's the problem. I started writing this story in November, and I've been working on it for about six months now. As any author can tell you, you can only grind away at a story for so long before you start to get sick of it. It doesn't help that the most recent chapter brought up the word count to 50,000, which feels like enough of an accomplishment. But no, I'm not done yet.

I've got seven chapters left, and I really hope I can get them done. I didn't wasn't to risk having another one of my stories slip into an endless hiatus.

Speaking of, let's talk about Z-Harmony for a second. So, back when I was submitting _A New Dawn_ to be featured on ZNN, I also mentioned that I had written Z-Harmony, and that they could feature that story if they wanted to. Well, they recently got back to me, and they say that the story has to be edited significantly, (because of typos and 'stiff dialogue') or else they'll have to reject it.

Now, I find this whole situation to be pretty hilarious, because even though I've mostly lost interested in the story, everyone else can't shut up about how much they love that story. (Not that I'm complaining.) I just wanted to let you know that the site that eagerly features _A New Dawn_ is prepared to reject Z-Harmony. I'm curious to see how my readers will react to that news.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

…

No matter where you were in Zootopia, or what you were doing, you couldn't escape the reality of what was happening to the city. Even if you were fortunate enough not to witness any of it firsthand, it was being broadcast on every news channel and all over social media.

Doug had searched far beyond the city's limits to find as many prey supremacists as he could find, and he had managed to round up about a hundred of them in total. The plan was for all of them to reconvene at Doug's mystery destination. And while there were quite a few smaller mammals, most of them were far bigger, and were ready to show their strength and stand up to the predators, by any means necessary.

Doug had wanted a revolution, and 'revolution' was probably the kindest word you could use. The more accurate word would probably be 'terrorism'.

All of this was completely overwhelming to Dawn, in more ways than one. It was a surreal experience for her to be surrounded by her biggest fans, mammals who praised her for the Night Howler incident and claimed that it was only the start of something much bigger.

Doug had explained to Dawn that since her last plan had gone so poorly, he had taken the liberty of coming up with most of the ideas himself. He told her that while she would still be the face of the operation, he would be putting in a lot more effort. The two of them would essentially be partners.

It was an incredibly bizarre experience for Dawn. She had not planned any of this, and now here she was leading the revolution.

…

It was difficult for most Zootopian citizens to go about their day. Many of the roads were closed, and the ones that weren't had traffic backed up for miles.

One mammal that was having a particularly hard day was Gideon. He was already emotional because of the earlier session, and now he just wanted to get home to Bunnyburrow for some piece and quiet.

The news reports explained that all of this damage was coming from prey supremacists. It was also widely known that Dawn Bellwether had escaped prison yet again, but most of the media seemed to be under the impression that the ewe was solely responsible for all the riots. They all had these crazy theories about how she somehow managed to organize the entire thing from within her prison cell.

But Gideon knew that wasn't true. Admittedly, he didn't have any definitive proof that Dawn hadn't been planning anything. But there were some things that he just _knew_.

Gideon was probably the only mammal in the city right now who wasn't afraid of her.

Then again, he never had been very smart…

Suddenly, right at that moment, there was an audible gasp. Someone was pointing up at the giant screens on the city buildings just outside the station. Normally, these screens displayed nonstop ads. But this time, someone was hacking the screens. And they were displaying a live feed of…

Gideon gulped. This wasn't good.

…

In no time at all, Dawn, Doug, and the other prey supremacists finally arrived at the destination. It turned out to be the famous Oasis Arena, the biggest stage in Zootopia. It looked like they were going to be interrupting the performance of some new pop band that Dawn had never heard of. Evidently, the audience was almost entirely prey, which is why Doug chose it,

There were so many moving pieces to the operation that Dawn didn't have time to think about. A moose was in charge of the electrical panels, making sure that video of this revolution would be broadcast for the world to see. A rhino grabbed the celebrity who was supposed to perform and began holding her hostage backstage.

When Dawn asked Doug if this all seemed a bit excessive, he simply shrugged and told her that desperate times call for desperate measures.

Dawn had to keep reminding herself that these actions, while extreme, were no more extreme than the actions she and her team had taken back when the Night Howler operation was in full swing. She just needed to get back into the mindset she had two years ago. But for some reason, she was finding it difficult to do that.

She was snapped out of her current train of thought by a tap on her shoulder. Doug leaned over and said, "I'll introduce you."

Dawn was caught off guard. "Wait, what do I say?"

Doug just shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you always wanted to say. This is your moment, boss. We're all behind you." And with that, he stepped out to the stage.

Of course, the audience was expecting a concert, but they were beginning to realize that something was terribly amiss. The tech team had made the screens behind him show posters with propaganda on them. Doug really had thought of everything.

There were a bunch of confused murmurs from the crowd. "What the heck is this?!" "What's going on?" "Who is this guy?" "Oh, is he the comedian that goes on before-"

Doug picked up a microphone that was meant for the singer. "Enough!" he yelled. It seemed that he wasn't too thrilled to be compared to a comedian. Because right then, as if to show the crowd just how serious he was, he took something out of is pocket and fired a warning shot into the air. Dawn wasn't sure if it was a real gun, tranquilizer, or flare. It happened so fast.

"Please do not panic," he said. "That was just to get your attention. To every prey mammal in the room, we are here to help you. And to every pred, well…" He gave a sinister smile. "Now might be a good time to run."

The crowd, which had initially been very confused, were starting to become afraid.

"Ladies and gentlemammals," Doug went on, "today marks the beginning of a new age for Zootopia. A new horizon! A new beginning! A new… well, I can't think of a different word, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that things are going to change around here. And if any prey mammal has a problem with that, well… I hate to tell you this, pal, but you've probably been brainwashed. But have no fear, we're here to snap you all back to your senses, and we're willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen."

A few boos rang out. Doug just laughed it off. "All right, I get it," he said. "It's cause I'm not the one you want to see, right? Nah, I'm just the hype-mammal. Well, I'm not gonna waste any more of your time. put your paws together for one of the greatest fighters for prey rights in the history of our world. Introducing, the one, the only, Dawn Bellwether!"

That was her cue. Dawn sucked in her breath and stepped out onto the stage. The cameras were on her. Because the audience was mostly prey, Dawn felt confident that these mammals would be on her side. That they would cheer for her.

Instead, she was greeted by the largest booing she had ever heard in her life. It was so loud that for a moment Dawn thought she might go deaf, before Doug fired a second warning shot and yelled. "Let her speak!" He then handed her the microphone.

All eyes were on Dawn. She gulped, Why was she so nervous? This was what she wanted! She had practiced some version of this speech ever since she had the initial idea for the Night Howler project. Everything in her life had led to this moment, why couldn't she speak?

Evidently, Doug picked up on her hesitation. "Boss, we've got a limited time here," He waited a few more seconds and then asked, "Should I say something?"

"No," Dawn said, attempting to assure herself as well as Doug. She cleared her throat and started to speak. "Right, well hello everyone. You all know who I am. Your former Mayor. And… I'm back." She did a little curtsey. The crowd remained silent. She gave a weak smile. "I'm looking around, and I barely see any predators, so that's a good sign."

In that moment, Dawn felt more like a failing stand up comedian than any sort of political leader. But she wasn't going to give up.

"I am here to save you," she continued. "Prey mammals have been oppressed by predators for far too long."

Someone in the crowd asked, "What the hell is she talking about?"

Dawn heard the voice, but chose to ignore it. "And now, we are finally ready to take this city back from their greedy claws. I understand if some of you may feel nervous or uncertain, but I can assure you…"

"My best friend is a predator!" the voice said, much louder this time. Dawn looked down and saw a deer making his way to the front row.

Dawn tried to maintain her composure. "Well then, I feel so much sympathy for you. As I was saying, I can assure you…"

"How can you be so cruel?" The deer shouted.

Dawn blinked. "I just said I sympathized with you."

"You don't know me," the deer said, angrily. "And you don't know my friend, Jeff. You know, back when you were Mayor, he was always in a constant state of panic. He was convinced that there was some sort of virus going around that only predators were affected by. And every time we hung out, he was thought he could turn at any moment." The deer briefly looked emotional before the scowl returned to his face. "But did you care about that? Of course not! And what about all the prey that got hurt along the way? Just collateral damage? Do you realize how screwed up you really are?"

Honestly, the concept of a predator being terrified of going savage was something that had never occurred to Dawn. She just always assumed that predators were perfectly willing to make themselves feral monsters at a moment's notice, and that the midnicampum holicithius just sped up the process.

After a moment, Dawn shook the thought out of her head and got back on topic. "Look, sir. I'm on your side. I stand for prey everywhere."

But the deer just scoffed. "If you think you stand for all prey, I gotta tell you, I have never been more ashamed to be a prey mammal in my life."

At this point, all pretense of trying to be the one in control were gone. Now, Dawn was locked in a personal and moral battle with this total stranger. "No, that's not…"

The deer turned away from her, speaking to the crowd as a whole. "Look at her, trying to play the innocent card. Do you really think we're gonna fall for that? She's a coward."

Doug approached the deer. "You better watch your tongue," he snarled.

But Dawn barely even registered that Doug was there. "I stood up for you!" She shouted at the deer.

The deer scoffed. "All you did was hide in the corner and make phone calls, letting someone else do the dirty work!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Dawn wasn't even speaking into the microphone anymore. "Did you want me to just sit there and take the abuse like everybody else? No. I was trying to save you, all of you! I was trying to rescue you from the…"

But the deer didn't let her finish. "You wanted to rescue us?! By putting us in danger?"

"The predators were always dangerous!" Dawn all but screamed in his face. "You just couldn't see it!"

"Nobody was in danger until you came along!"

For a brief second, there was complete silence. At this point, the deer had come very close to the stage, and his voice was being picked up by the microphone. Some of the nearby audience members were exchanging nervous looks.

Finally, Dawn cleared her throat and attempted to speak with dignity. "What are you saying, that you're afraid of me?"

The deer frowned and started at her with unflinching eyes. "Not anymore."

At those words, the entire crowd applauded. Dawn stood there, slowly taking in the fact that the entire audience was against her.

Suddenly, the sounds of police sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Crap," Doug said. "I thought I could buy some time…"

The crowd started to become very loud, and some of them started to rush the stage. Doug shouted, "We have to go! Right now!" And so, for the second time that day, Dawn took off running.

Behind her, Dawn could hear the too-familiar sound of gunshots. "Why are we firing at them?" Dawn asked as she ran beside Doug,

"If they're not with us, they're against us! Now, let's go!"

There was something about running for your life that made it very difficult to think about morality, but Dawn couldn't shake the feeling that Doug's methods were perhaps a bit too extreme for her liking. And that crowd… why had they reacted in that way? Why couldn't they see that she was only trying to do what was right for prey everywhere?

But Dawn was so engrossed in her thoughts, her run slowly devolved into a slight jog. She didn't even realize that she was lagging behind until it was too late.

She didn't see the wire.

In an instant, she tripped and fell to the ground, her glasses flying off in the process. And then, because the universe had apparently decided to punish her, a large, heavy piece of sound equipment fell over. It looked like all of the commotion and gunfire had caused a few wires to become undone, and now she was trapped.

Doug turned to get her, but in that moment, there was a loud honk. He looked through the nearby doors and saw a large black van being driven by a hippo. A van that was supposed to be their getaway vehicle.

Now, since Dawn's glasses had been knocked off, she couldn't see the van very well. Actually, she couldn't see anything very well. But she could hear something; police sirens in the distance that were becoming louder and louder. Doug looked back and forth between his co-worker and the van. It was becoming abundantly evident that he was going to have to make a choice.

Dawn heard the ruckus in the distance, getting louder and louder with each passing second, "Doug, they're coming for me!" she yelled. "If you leave me here I'm going to die

"Buy if I stay here, the revolution dies." Doug said, "Everything we've worked for will have been for nothing."

He looked slightly hesitant, but not as hesitant as Dawn would have liked. "I mean, let's face it. If the roles were reversed, you'd probably do the same thing."

And Dawn realized with horror that he was absolutely right.

Just like that, he was gone. Without so much as a goodbye. Nothing.

Dawn looked out, desperate to find something that could help her. But she couldn't even see anything. This was supposed to be her revolution. But now, she felt like nothing. She just lay there, in genuine pain. In fact, it felt like she was dangerously close to passing out from sheer exhaustion. But before that could happen, she heard something.

"Hello, are you hurt?" It was a little girl's voice.

"I... I need help," Dawn said, cautiously.

The child approached Dawn, but because of the ewe's incredibly bad eyesight, she had no idea what kind of mammal this girl was. All she saw was a vague shape that was possibly brown and/or pink.

She had no idea if this child was a predator or prey.

"Gee, you look really hurt," the young girl said. "Don't worry, my mommy can-"

"Sylvia!" a distressed voice rang out. A much larger shape, presumably the girl's mother

"Wait…" Dawn said, desperately.

"Stay away from my child!" The mother shouted, in a fierce but protective way.

At this point, Dawn really did feel like she was about to faint. It was like her body physically couldn't take anything more today. Or maybe her mind couldn't take all of the contradictory information that she had seen and heard.

But right before she blacked out, she was able to overhear the exchange between the mystery mother and daughter, as they were walking away.

"Who was that, mommy?"

"A monster, sweetie. That was a monster."


	20. Everything Is Wrong

Chapter Twenty: Everything Is Wrong

Okay, new chapter. I was pretty sick this week, but I had to get this chapter out in time because it's one of the chapters I've been looking forward to writing the most.

Without giving anything away, This is the chapter where we can finally transition from Act 2 to Act 3. (And don't worry, Act 3 will be much shorter than the first two acts.) We're really getting down to the wire!

Disclaimer: I do not own _Zootopia_.

….

Gideon didn't even stop to think before he started running.

All he knew was what he had seen on the monitors. The live feed had cut out once the prey supremacists left the area, but it was clear that some sort of fight had just broken out.

On one side, there were the angry but well-intentioned audience members. On the other side, there were the prey supremacists themselves, desperate to gain control.

And then there was Dawn, caught in the middle of everything.

All over the news and social media, mammals were quick to blame the entire thing on her. She was supposedly the leader behind this great revolution, but Gideon was 99% sure that she hadn't even known there _was_ a revolution until two hours ago.

He could tell he was getting close to the Oasis Arena by the sheer number of mammals that were running in the opposite direction. It was absolute mayhem for several blocks, and it seemed like every cop in the city was on duty today.

Even as Gideon approached the arena, he thought about how strange all of this was. So many mammals would say he was crazy for even feeling sorry for her, let alone wanting to save her. He was willing to bet that even if every mammal in the city knew about Dawn's unfortunate past, very few of them would actually be willing to forgive her. The common consensus would probably be, 'tough luck, but it doesn't change anything.'

But not Gideon. He wanted to stop her from getting hurt. He wanted to make sure she was safe. Because he _knew_ that there was good in her. Even if no one else could see it, even if he didn't have a ton of proof to back it up, he knew that she was capable of change.

And as he entered the building, he heard a very faint voice in the distance. "I found her! I found her!"

He immediately ran in the direction of the voice. As he got closer, it became apparent to Gideon that the speaker was talking to himself.

Eventually, Gideon rounded the corner and saw him; a wolf in a plaid shirt with the happiest expression possible on his face. And on the ground next to him, buried under some sound equipment… there was Dawn.

"Let's see," the wolf was saying to himself, "I wonder if you're worth more dead or alive."

"Hey!" Gideon said without thinking.

The wolf looked up, momentarily confused. Then he smiled and gestured towards the fallen ewe, as if to say 'Look what I found.'

"Leave her alone," Gideon said, as firmly as he could.

The wolf stared at him. "Leave her alone? _Leave her alone_?" He had a look on his face that was part confused and part stunned. "Do you know who this is?"

"Yes, I do," Gideon said simply. "And I… I'm not gonna let you kill her."

"Why the hell not?" The wolf asked, exasperated. "She is too much of a danger to the city, and it might be the only way to keep predators safe. Don't you care about that at all?"

Gideon attempted to sound braver and smarter than he really was. "Well, the thing is… it's not your jurisdiction to decide that."

But the wolf just glared and said. "Oh, please. Nobody is going to mourn Dawn freaking Bellwether."

Gideon opened his mouth to defend her, but slowly closed it as he realized that this wolf had a point. He sighed. didn't want to argue with this wolf and he certainly didn't want to fight him.

"Look, I'm gonna take her to the police. They'll take care of everything."

"Dude, I don't know if you've noticed, but the police in this city are a little busy right now." He chuckled a bit. "I don't know what the hell your deal is…"

"It's called decency," Gideon said flatly. "You should try it sometime."

The wolf seemed taken aback by these words. After a few seconds, he just shook his head in confusion. "Whatever, dude. You wanna call the cops, I'll let you do you. But watch what you say around here. Someone might think you were on her side." And with that, he left.

Once the coast was clear, Gideon ran over to Dawn and kneeled down. Using all his strength, he was able to pull her out from the tight spot she was in, miraculously not waking her up in the process. He put his paw on her wrist to see if she still had a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that she was still alive.

Thinking fast, (possibly faster than he ever had in his life), he dialed Judy's number.

There were a couple of rings. At first, Gideon was worried that Judy would be too busy to receive the call, but after about five rings, Judy picked up.

"I'm sorry Gideon, but Nick and I are super busy right now. So unless…"

"I found her," he said, quickly. "Dawn. She's passed out, but she's still alive."

There was a long silence on the other end, before Judy asked, "Are you alone?"

"Yeah," Gideon responded. I'm at the Oasis Arena. Looks like someone tried to leave her for dead. And then someone else just came in... also wanting her dead."

"Well, we are swarmed right now will all these riots, but we'll try to come over." A brief pause, then she added, "Or maybe I could call Bogo and he could send someone else?"

But Gideon shook his head. "No, no, I… I think it would be best if you came. At least you're… somewhat sympathetic to her case."

"I understand," Judy said. "I'll let Nick know and we'll come as soon as we can. And if she wakes up before we get there, then…" she hesitated before saying, "I'll let you decide what to do."

"Understood," Gideon said.

"Thanks." And with that, Judy hung up, and Gideon was left alone with the unconscious ewe.

Gideon was reminded of that day back in Bunnyburrow, when he had to stop Dean from leaving before the police arrived. Back then, he still thought of her as a dangerous criminal, who would be put back in prison as justice. Since then, so much had changed and yet nothing had changed. She was still a wanted mammal, and there was no getting around the fact that she had done genuinely bad things. But his eyes, she didn't need to be punished. She needed a hug.

Then again, who was he to judge? He was just some dumb fox from the country who thought he could relate to someone who had been through so much worse.

At that moment, Dawn's nose began to twitch slightly. Very slowly, her eyes opened. Gideon was expecting a big outburst, but instead she just blinked a few times, confused. Looking down, Gideon realized what the problem was. Her glasses were on the floor, nearby. He picked them up and gently placed them on her face.

"Thank you, I..." Dawn's brief moment of gratitude went away when she realized who had just helped her.

"…Gideon?" she asked in disbelief.

"Hey," Gideon said somewhat awkwardly.

Dawn closed her eyes, and took a few deep, hoarse breaths. She wanted to be furious, but she just didn't have the energy for it. "Why is it that just when I think my life can't possibly get any worse, you show up?"

Gideon didn't say anything. Dawn tried to stand, but she winced, grabbing her side. She was in a lot of pain, and it was clear she wouldn't be going anywhere. Heck, even if she could move, where could she possibly go? She didn't feel safe going back to Doug, after he had betrayed her like that. And everyone else saw her as a monster.

She gave a long sigh. "So what happens now? I imagine it's back to the prison?"

"Well…" he hesitated. "They're still looking for a place to put you, considering what happened."

"I have to say, I'm surprised to still be alive."

Gideon thought about mentioning the wolf from earlier, but ultimately decided against it. "Well, uh... that's something."

"I said surprised, not relieved." She looked meditative for a moment before asking, "Why are you even here?"

"…Because I care about you," Gideon said, softly.

But Dawn shook her head. "That's impossible."

"No, it's not."

"Yes it is, actually!" Dawn said, a bit strenuously. "Because my associate… well, my _former_ associate…" she looked irritated. "He believes in all the same things I do, but he doesn't care about me. He proved that quite clearly." She gulped, trying to maintain a stoic face and failing miserably. "…The one mammal that I thought would always have my back just left me to die! And now… now a _predator_ is saying he cares about me? That's impossible! That's not how it's supposed to work!"

Slowly, Gideon sat down, so that he was at eye level with her while still remaining a good distance away. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her. "Well, I mean it. I care about you, Dawn…"

"Don't call me by my first name!" She screamed with practically all the energy she had. She was struggling to even sit up properly. She wanted to lie down, but she didn't. She couldn't allow herself to be weak. Not now, not ever.

"And for God's sake," she went on, "Don't think that just because you put on a goddamned smile, you can get me to change my mind!" She snarled at him. "Predators. Are. Bad! It's written in your DNA! It's written in the history books for God's sake!"

She turned away from Gideon, trying to think straight. Her mind landed on the deer in the crowd, and all the prey mammals who had rallied against her. "How can everybody be so blind?" she asked, thinking out loud. "How can no one else see it? It's like I'm driving down a one-way street and everyone else is going the wrong way! Why am I the only one who sees what's really going on here?"

It occurred to Gideon that her choice of metaphor was more appropriate than she realized. "If you're driving down a one-way street," he began, slowly, "And everybody else is going the other way… what makes you so sure that you're not the one who's mistaken?"

"…No." Dawn didn't want to think about what Gideon was implying.

"What makes you so sure…"

"No!" she said again, firmer this time.

"…That you're not going the wrong way-"

"I'm not!" she shouted to the best of her ability. Then she started to cough. "I am not," she repeated. "Just get out of here. Get out now."

"Okay, okay," Gideon said, trying to calm her down. "You want me to leave, I understand. I'm just a little worried about what could happen if someone else found you. I mean, everybody else thinks-"

"I know what they think!" Dawn snapped. Then, after a moment or two, Dawn turned to face him. "Why are you doing this? Why are helping me even after everything I've done?" She snarled, staring further and further into his soul. " _Why the hell are you being so nice to me?!_ "

"...Who else was gonna do it?"

There was a pause. Both mammals were silent for a very long time. Finally, Gideon kneeled down and sat closer to her. Dawn seemed reluctant but didn't say anything.

"Listen to me," Gideon said. "Even if you can't admit it, even if you hate me... I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure you're safe. And I swear on my life, I'm never going to hurt you."

"I…" Dawn stuttered, a rare occurrence for her. Then she took a deep breath and uttered what was quite possibly the most honest sentence she had ever said.

"…I want to believe that."

It took a moment for the words to sink in before Gideon asked, "Then what's stopping you?"

"Because that's just not the way the world works."

"Look around," Gideon said in the gentlest way possible. "The world's complicated. And I'll be the first to admit, there are a lot of predators out there that are bad. Too many. But there are quite a lot of prey out there that are bad, too. And then there are predators that are good and there are prey that are good. It's a complicated system. It's a complicated world."

Dawn wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were closed, and it seemed like she didn't want to hear this. But Gideon felt, deep in his gut, that she _needed_ to hear this. So he kept going.

"You know, a lot of mammals expect a fox to be a cunning trickster, but that's not who I am. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get where I am. An honest baker, just trying to make a living. I know that you got judged a lot, too. For something you couldn't change about yourself. And so many predators are judged, too, for similar reasons."

"…Stop." Dawn said.

"I know why you did what you did. But I'm not angry about it," Gideon said, honestly. "I understand that you were in a terrible place, and you saw it as the best option. I wish things could have been different for you."

"…Don't."

"Listen to me. You still have time. You can still be saved. And you know what, I think you're worth saving."

" _Stop!_ " Dawn yelled at the top of her lungs. And when she looked back up at Gideon, he could tell that she was on the verge of tears.

Ever since that fateful night twenty years ago, she had promised herself that she would never trust a predator again. She had convinced herself that every single predator was cold and heartless.

But… _if_ she was wrong… _if_ Chad Lancer really had been just one bad apple out of a sea of good predators…

In the past, Dawn had never even entertained this notion. Partially because it seemed impossible, and partially because she didn't want to think about it. Because if it was true, then what did that say about her?

What if she really did have it wrong all these years? What if she really ruined so many lives just because she had to take her anger out on the entire predator population of Zootopia? What if she really was just the monster everyone said she was?

She didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. But… with each passing second, the evidence was becoming harder and harder for her to ignore.

Slowly, she began to speak. "All my life, every predator I've met has found a way to make my life miserable. I thought I could solve the problem, but all I did was make prey hate me, too." She took a few rapid breaths. "This wasn't supposed to happen! I was protecting them, I was standing up for them…" She tried to control herself, and with as much self conviction as she could muster, she yelled, "I did the right thing!"

But even as the words were coming out of her mouth, she knew instinctively that they didn't sound right. Her words weren't strong, or confident. She didn't sound like someone who knew what she was doing. She sounded like a lunatic, desperately clinging onto a belief that might have never been real in the first place.

And that's when the tears came. Slowly at first, but it didn't take long before she was bawling her eyes out. She couldn't even think straight, it seemed like everything in her life had flipped upside down, and she was holding on with all her strength, desperate to stay in the way things were rather than accept the situation as it was.

And when she looked up, she saw Gideon's blue eyes looking at her. His face was full of worry and empathy.

It had taken her a long, long time. But when she looked into those eyes of his, all the fear and paranoia she had carried with her began to melt away.

She could trust him.

And that meant that not all predators were monsters. That some predators were good, gentle souls.

And that meant…

 _That meant_ …

"Was it all true?" she asked, softly. "…Am I really just the bad guy?" Deep inside, she already knew what the answer was, but she needed to hear it out loud before her mind would accept it.

After a few moments, Gideon said, "You were, up until about ten seconds ago."

A myriad of emotions swelled up inside of her. She closed her eyes, trying to mentally process everything, but to no avail. And then she opened her eyes. She blinked, taking in Gideon and the scenery around her.

It was as if she had just opened her eyes for the very first time.

Gideon, seeing the look on her face, moved closer and reached out his arms to embrace her.

And if there was even the smallest inkling of doubt left inside Dawn Bellwether, it vanished the instant she let herself sink into the hug.

In a million years, she never imagined she could feel safe in a predator's arms.

In that moment, she could feel every wall she had built up in the past twenty years crumble apart in an instant. The tears poured down like a waterfall, with no signs of stopping. She held Gideon as tightly as she could, feeling that if she let go, she would float away into the never-ending abyss that was her own dark mind.

She cried so much. It almost felt like she was cleansing herself, as if every teardrop was her anger and bitterness that was now being washed out of her system.

"I'm sorry…" she said, in between tears. "I'm so sorry."

And she meant it.


	21. Healing

Chapter Twenty-One: Healing

Author's Note: So, this chapter was tricky. I made a major change in this story pretty late in the game, and because of that, I had to rethink the vast majority of this chapter, as well as the following one.

Hopefully everything comes out okay.

Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia.

…

One of the things no one tells you about working for the ZPD is that it's the kind of job where you're exposed to craziness on a semi-regular basis. And for Judy and Nick, who were already slightly unorthodox by themselves, it truly felt like that had seen everything and they couldn't be surprised anymore.

Well, that thought went out the window the second they showed up on the scene.

Dawn Bellwether was sobbing her heart out into Gideon Grey's arms.

The two cops exchanged confused glances that basically said, 'What did we miss?' After a few moments, Judy cautiously took a few steps forward. "Um..."

Dawn looked up, and when she saw Judy, she suddenly became very embarrassed. She broke the hug and tried her best to wipe away the tears.

Gideon spoke first. "Judy… you got here pretty quick..."

"Actually we were caught in traffic for quite some time," Judy said. She had worried that they wouldn't be able to make it in time, and that Bellwether would have escaped. She hadn't expected… _this_ to happen.

Nick was still trying to process everything. "…How long were you two hugging it out?"

"I don't know," Gideon said honestly. He resisted the impulse to add, 'But I didn't want it to stop.'

As for Dawn herself, she was in the process of taking several deep breaths. Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke. "Judy... Nick… there's something I need to say to you. I…" She hesitated again, and then looked back at Gideon. He gave her a look of support.

"…I'm sorry," Dawn said. "For everything. Everything I did to you, and the city. I realize that my words don't mean much, but for what it's worth… I am sorry."

There was silence. Judy could see the very real tears on the ewe's cheeks. But Nick, on the other hand, was less convinced. "And how can we be sure you're not lying?"

"I…" Dawn stammered. She had lied so much, she couldn't blame Nick for having doubts. She had nobody to blame but herself for the situation she was in. "I guess you're right."

But Gideon stood his ground. "She's not lying. I'd bet my life on it."

"I think he's right," Judy said to her partner. "I think we can trust her."

Nick sighed. He didn't want to disagree with Judy about anything. (He could count on one paw the amount of arguments he had actually _won_.) But he was well aware that Dawn had been able to trick everyone before. What was to stop her from doing it a second time?

"Look, call me a pessimist," he said. "But I'm finding it a little hard to trust Dawn Bellwether. Look at what her cronies are doing to the city as we speak."

"They're not my cronies," Dawn said, weakly. "At least, not anymore."

Judy spoke up. "Well, we already know Doug Ramses is the new face of the operation. We've seen his photo everywhere. But there are still many things we don't know. So, I guess what I'm saying is… if you're genuinely remorseful for what you've done, I think the first step should be telling us everything you know."

Dawn didn't even have to think about it. She went into a long story, explaining everything she knew about Doug and his current operation. Judy took out a notepad and took several pages worth of notes. Meanwhile, Nick just stood there, taking it all in.

There was always the possibility that she was giving them fake information, trying to steer them in the wrong direction. But she seemed like she genuinely wanted to help. And Judy was having no problem trusting the ewe. Nick loved his partner with all his heart, but sometimes she could be a little _too_ optimistic.

When Dawn had told Judy everything she could remember, there was another long pause, where nobody said anything. Eventually, Judy broke the silence. "I think we should get you somewhere safe." She hesitated. "…A holding cell, something like that."

"Pardon me, but is that really necessary?" Gideon asked. "To go back in a cell after everything? I'm pretty sure she's not gonna run."

"Gideon, it's fine," Dawn said. She started to walk, but clutched her side in pain as she moved. She was still aching from having the sound equipment fall on her.

"Can you get her a doctor, at least?" Gideon pleaded.

"Sure," Nick remarked. "If you can show us a single doctor in this city who's willing to help Dawn Bellwether."

Judy sighed and turned to face Dawn. "Don't worry about it. You just need some rest. It'll heal on its own."

…

And so that's how, in about half an hour, the four mammals ended up back at the ZPD Headquarters.

The building was completely abuzz with officers and newly captured convicts who had escaped prison mere hours ago. It appeared that a big part of Doug's master plan was to make the police so busy, they wouldn't be able to focus on capturing him and the rest of the prey supremacists. And the plan was definitely working.

Apparently, construction workers and electricians all over the city were trying to put various prisons back together. Meanwhile, the ZPD Headquarters didn't have enough holding cells for everyone. Apparently, one raccoon, who was previously in a cell for shoplifting, was actually set free just so they could make more room for the new wave of convicts.

Judy and Nick tried to hide the fact that they were escorting the one and only Dawn Bellwether through the halls, but a few cops caught a glimpse of her, and immediately afterward, there were a series of whispers, followed by various audible reactions. Some of the cops were cheering on Judy and Nick, others were booing Dawn. One officer actually tried to throw a plastic cup at her, before Judy intervened.

What many of the cops failed to notice was that the ewe wasn't being cuffed. It wasn't necessary. Dawn knew that there was no point in running away. Even if she managed it, she had absolutely nowhere to go.

To say that Dawn was uncomfortable would be a major understatement. She tried her best to avoid eye contact with everyone and focused on breathing in and out. She normally didn't have trouble in crowds, but given her recent revelation, she just wanted to be alone for a little while and think.

Throughout all of this, Gideon had followed suit, trying not to say anything. He had always been nervous around crowds, and he got a lot of confused glances from various cops. It didn't make sense why some baker from the country was helping escort one of the most dangerous criminals on the planet to her cell.

But Gideon felt it was important that he stuck with Dawn, at least for a little while. It felt wrong to abandon her now. He had grown to deeply care about her, and he was probably the only mammal who could honestly say that about the disgraced ewe.

…

Before long, Dawn found herself in a quiet, solitary cell, which gave her plenty of time to think.

There were a number of things that Dawn realized during this time. One of them was that her mind was a seriously messed up place.

She paced around the room, alternating between punching the wall, and slapping herself. She wasn't sure how much time she had spent in there. Her best guess was anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

She was thinking about literally slamming her body against a wall, thinking it might make her feel better, when she heard a gentle knock at the door. And when she looked up, there was Gideon. After some brief hesitation, he slowly opened the door and peered in. He knew she wasn't going to make a break for it.

By this point, Dawn had grown so use to dreading Gideon's presence, it came as a surprise to her how happy she was to see him. She gave him a very small smile.

Truth be told, Dawn was in a pretty sorry state. She was still aching pretty bad from earlier, and her wool and outfit were both very messy. Gideon cleared his throat and asked, "Are you feeling okay?"

"No," Dawn said with a sigh.

Gideon looked around the tiny cell. "I told them this was unnecessary. But I guess my opinion doesn't count for much. Apparently, I'm not a _real therapist,_ " he said, making sarcastic quotes. Dawn smiled a little bit more, but her smile soon disappeared.

She didn't have a whole lot to smile about recently.

There was a brief pause, then Gideon nervously said, "Well, if there's anything you wanna talk about, I'm here."

Dawn seemed awfully hesitant, then she sat down on the bed and sighed. "…You know that feeling you get…" she began, slowly. "When you wake up from a dream, and you're thinking about the dream you had. And it felt real at the time, but now you're thinking back… and you go, 'Wait a minute, that didn't make sense.' Well, that's how I feel right now. Except I'm looking back on my entire life. Everything I did, everything I believed."

She sniffled a bit. "Like… common sense tells you that what Chad Lancer did to me isn't just something that predators do to prey. Prey do it to prey, predators do it to predators, and… I guess prey do it to predators, too. But somehow, that fact was completely lost on me."

Dawn took a few deep breaths. She had been doing a lot of thinking in the last hour, and there were things she needed to talk about. "…And when I thought about predators, I always pictured a violent adult male. Yes, there are female predators, but I was sure that they were just as savage as their male counterparts, just in different ways. And the children… of course there are predator children! Innocent children who did nothing wrong. But somehow I was convinced that they just came out of the womb with a thirst for blood, because it's in their DNA! And it scared me! I was terrified of babies!" She was hyperventilating, on the verge of tears again.

"And I never questioned my beliefs," she continued. "After all, I was always the smartest kid in class. But I couldn't comprehend the basic fact that _babies_ are not evil! And because of that, I made so many innocent mammals suffer, some of them families for God's sake! How could I have been so blind?"

She turned away, too ashamed of her own actions to even look at Gideon.

One of the many things that Dawn had realized in the last hour is that she had built up a blind spot that locked off certain parts of reality. But now it was gone. She couldn't slip back into her old mindset even if she tried.

Sure, she had been through a lot of hardships in her life. Sure, she had been treated coldly by a number of predators. But now, she knew that it wasn't their fault. She was hated and despised for a reason, and she had nobody to blame but herself.

After a considerable period of silence, Gideon placed his paw on her shoulder in the gentlest way possible. "I'm not gonna pretend to know how you're feeling…" he began. "But for what it's worth, I've been down the path of redemption before. It wasn't easy, but I made it in the end. And… I want to help you."

Dawn looked up. For a brief moment, she smiled, and a slight rosy tint appeared on her cheekbones. But it quickly vanished, along with her smile. "I appreciate it, Gideon. Really, I do. But…" She sighed. "There is no redemption for me. Not after everything I've done. I nearly sent the entire city into chaos. There's no excuse for that. I'll live out the rest of my days in prison." She hesitated, and then added, "And I'm fine with that."

But Gideon wasn't going to give up hope. "If you realized that you did the wrong thing, and you're genuinely sorry, then you can get better." When that didn't seem to lift the ewe's spirits, he went on. "I mean, don't they always say that the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem?"

"That's alcoholism," Dawn said flatly.

"…I think it could apply here, too."

In spite of everything, Dawn chuckled. No matter how bleak the situation was, Gideon was always able to make her laugh at the very least. Even from the very beginning, she had found him funny, even if she hadn't admitted it to herself at the time. But he also had a knack for knowing when it was or wasn't an appropriate time to tell a joke. He might not have been 'book smart', but he definitely had more intelligence than she had initially taken him for.

After a moment, Gideon's ears perked up. "Oh… I almost forgot, after that breakout earlier today, I was able to find this." He went feeling inside his large overall pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag. Inside was a peach tart, the treat he had baked for Dawn's session, seemingly a million years ago.

"I never got the chance to give it to you," he said, handing it to her. "I think you've earned it."

Dawn felt her heart stand still. To her, this little peach tart felt like the most valuable possession in the world.

For months, she hadn't been sure whether or not she could trust Gideon. But now, it was the only thing she _was_ sure about.

"…Thank you," Dawn said, earnestly. "I'll try to ration this, but it won't be easy."

Gideon smiled. "This won't be the last time I visit," he said. "Trust me. I'll fight to get you parole if I have to."

But Dawn shook her head. "Don't. I'm the most hated mammal in the world. The last thing I want is for the citizens of Zootopia to start turning on you because you're defending me."

It warmed her heart that Gideon was being so nice to her, but she was genuinely worried about him. The mammals who hated her really hated her, and if word got around that a predator was on her side, the media would never hear the end of it.

"You should just go," Dawn finally said, morosely. "Forget you ever met me. And don't come back." She managed to pull herself together, not wanting to start crying again. "That would be the smart move," she finished.

But Gideon's face didn't change. He just smiled that same sweet smile and said, "Well then, thank heavens I was never very smart."

…

It was hours later. Once again, Dawn was lying down in an uncomfortable bed. Only this time, she knew that she deserved it.

To put it mildly, today had been a hectic day. In the past 24 hours, her life had been completely flipped upside down.

Dawn had been spending a lot of time trying to pin down the things she knew with absolute certainty, without a fraction of a doubt. And now, as she struggled to get to sleep, she caught herself counting those facts.

Fact #1 – My name is Dawn J. Bellwether.

Fact #2 – I am not a good mammal.

Fact #3 – I have been in prison multiple times, and that's my own fault.

Fact #4 – Against all odds, I am in love with a fox named Gideon Grey.

Fact #5 – There is no way in hell that I am going to tell Gideon about Fact #4.


	22. Dawn's Choice

Chapter Twenty-Two: Dawn's Choice

Author's Note: I'm sorry I wasn't able to post this chapter last week. I recently lost my job and I actually went to a bit of a dark place. Now, a lot of things helped to get me out of the dark place, but I was still having some serious writers block until I saw something special.

I have to give a HUGE shout out to Bovine Beauty AKA Disneycow82, for creating the first official fanart of this story. I cannot thank them enough. It truly means the world to me. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide a link to the fanart itself. But just look up her username on Deviantart and look for a piece called "On The Run". There's also some other really cool stuff on their Deviantart page that's worth checking out.

And the simple fact that my story is bringing inspiration to other artists, that's enough of a motivation for me to see this story through to the end.

By the way, like I said in the last chapter, I made a major change to this story's third act very late in the game. Essentially, I had to make sure that the last act still kept the momentum going and still kept the stakes high. Unfortunately, I had to sacrifice some Greywether fluff in order to make that happen.

And yes, that is the official ship name. I invented the ship, I get to name it.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Zootopia_.

…

Gideon Grey sat upright in the bed, lost in thought.

He had decided to spend the night at a nearby motel. He could have gone back to BunnyBurrow, but he felt he was probably going to be needed here a little while longer.

Now, Gideon was a fairly simple mammal. Back when all of this had started, he had seen Dawn as someone who was in dire need of help, and he decided to help her because no one else would. Maybe it started out as pity, but that wasn't where he stood anymore. With each passing session, he got a stronger image of the kind of mammal that Dawn Bellwether was, not just who she pretended to be.

And now, after everything that had happened today, the ball had dropped. She had realized the error of her ways, and she was sorry. As far as Gideon was concerned, all of her crimes were in the past. He knew that most mammals would still blame her for everything she caused, but Gideon didn't have any trouble forgiving her.

But then again, maybe that was just because he had spent a good portion of his life seeking forgiveness for his own actions.

Either way, he was going to stick around. Right now, Dawn was definitely headed in the right direction. She needed as much positive reinforcement as possible and maybe, just maybe, she could have a chance at a normal life.

…

The next morning, Dawn woke up in her cell, and it took a moment to get her bearings. Her sleep in the prison bed has been _slightly_ more comfortable than usual. Because of the rush to find a holding cell that wasn't already occupied, they had settled on one with a slightly oversized bed.

This hadn't bothered her too much. Having to adjust to different scales was a basic fact of life, and Dawn knew this just as well as any mammal. She was already noticeably short for her species. Growing up, even her own family had towered over her.

But just because the bed was a little more comfortable than usual, that didn't mean her sleep had been pleasant. Her mind had been plagued with bad dreams all night. She had imagined the entire population of Zootopia, one by one, calling her out for her misdeeds. Predators, prey, families, children, you name it. Even Chad Lancer, who was no stranger to her nightmares, made an appearance. But this time, he told her, "You've become a bigger monster than I ever was."

And he seemed almost _proud_.

Dawn had been tossing and turning all night long, and when she finally woke up, she was in a cold sweat. She got up and tried to pace around the room for a little while. At least her physical aches from the previous day seemed to have healed. She tried to do a few basic exercises, until she gave up and sat down on the bed. Physical strength had never been her strong suit, pun not intended.

She tried to keep her mind preoccupied, but every topic she could think of just made her feel worse. She was the most hated mammal in Zootopia. She was going to spend the rest of her life in prison. And the worst part was, she deserved every bit of it.

As strange as it seemed, the only good thing in her life right now was Gideon Grey. The last mammal she ever imagined herself falling for, and now here she was.

But Dawn had no intention of telling Gideon about her true feelings for him. For one thing, she had no idea whether or nor he reciprocated those feelings. And yes, she knew how cliché that sounded. But the fact was, she had already lost so much. If Gideon rejected her, she didn't know what she would do.

Besides, how could she possibly expect him to feel the same way? She was a monster. She didn't deserve to be forgiven, let alone loved.

'No,' Dawn thought. 'Gideon deserves someone better than me.'

Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the cell door. When she looked up, she saw Judy standing there. She seemed hesitant before stepping in, as if she were asking permission. Dawn just offered up a slight smile.

Maybe they didn't have to be enemies after all.

Judy came over and sat down besides her on the bed. "Hey, how are things holding up?" She was attempting to sound optimistic.

"Better," said Dawn, not really meaning it.

There was a long silence between the two mammals, before Judy sat up straight. "So, just to keep you updated, we've sent all the information you gave us yesterday to higher authority. It looks like we have enough force to shut down Mr. Ramses' entire operation, but it'll be close."

"That's…" Dawn forced a smile. "That's good to hear."

"You know, there was a lot of debate about where to put you," Judy said. "Most of the holding cells are taken, and it'll be a while before we can actually get you back in a proper prison…"

"Oh, so that's something to look forward to." Dawn said dryly. After a moment, she sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just… it's kind of hard for me to feel hopeful right now."

Judy hesitated for a few seconds before admitting, "I think there's still a possibility that you could get parole."

But Dawn shook her head. "I don't deserve parole. And even if I did get out, everyone would still hate me."

"You know," Judy said. "When we were talking about places to put you, Gideon was very insistent that you didn't need to be behind bars, and that you could just hide out somewhere. Of course, we told him that it was too risky."

"He said that?" Dawn asked. She shouldn't have been surprised, but every kind act by Gideon just made her heart melt a little bit more.

Judy smiled a bit. "I will say, it's nice to see the two of you getting along. I know that you've had reservations about predators in the past, and for completely understandable reasons. But now, with Gideon…" Her smile became bigger. "I think you really like him."

In the midst of all her thoughts about Gideon, Dawn spoke without thinking. "What? That's ridiculous! He's just a friend!"

"…That's all I was implying," Judy said slowly.

"Oh…" Dawn realized what she had just admitted with a mix of horror and embarrassment. "I, uhh… I mean, he's my friend. So, of course I like him."

Judy's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, you… I mean…" She stammered a bit, before finally asking, "Do you _like_ -like him?"

" _Like_ -like him?" Dawn repeated, incredulously. "What are we, in third grade?"

Judy was trying to keep herself from smiling wide, but ultimately gave in as she covered her face. "Oh my God, the two of you… I mean I never would have put it together, but it just makes so much sense!"

Dawn groaned. "Look, please don't make a big deal out of this."

"It is a big deal," Judy countered.

"I have a crush, okay!" Dawn admitted, speaking louder than necessary. "He is literally the only mammal on the planet right now who actually cares about me. He is unbelievably nice, he got me to change… " She stammered off for a bit before putting her arms up in the air and saying, "Yeah. I have a crush. Sue me."

"Okay, okay," Judy said, calming down a bit. "I'm sorry, it's just not often that I get to play matchmaker," She then gave a genuine, gentle smile. "You should tell him how you feel."

Dawn looked away. "Oh, what do you know?"

"Well, funny you should ask." Judy said, going back to a more lighthearted tone. "I just happen to be dating my _own_ dumb fox. And therefore, I know a ton of stuff about the traditions of the species, dating customs, mating rituals…"

" _Too much information!"_

Judy giggled. "Sorry. I just… I want you to know I'm rooting for you."

After a brief silence, Dawn exhaled deeply. "Thank you."

But despite's Judy's best efforts, Dawn didn't exactly feel like smiling. Less than 24 hours ago, her entire world had come crumbling down on top of her. And now, the situation was hopeless.

They say that the truth will set you free. But for Dawn, realizing the truth just made her even more trapped.

Suddenly, the two mammals heard the sound of urgent footsteps running down the hall. They looked up just in time to see Nick coming around the corner.

"Carrots!" he exclaimed, "You need to see this." He held out his phone for his partner to see, then he turned and saw Dawn. He attempted to hide his fear and said, "Good afternoon, Miss Bellwether."

Dawn was going to make a snarky comment, but she ultimately thought better of it.

Judy walked up to Nick and looked at the video. From behind, Dawn could see Judy's ears droop. Letting her curiosity get the better of her, the ewe took a few steps forward and peered over Judy's shoulder.

And she got chills from what she saw.

The riots were still in full swing, and they seemed to be stronger than ever. Tear gas was being thrown into the crowds. There were signs that depicted predators on crucifixes. It looked like the number of prey supremacists had increased dramatically, but the police were fighting back with everything they had. It was a tough battle, and neither side was willing to give in.

Dawn wasn't sure how she would have reacted to this video a week ago. But today, she was horrified.

"Oh my God…" Judy managed to say.

Dawn couldn't say anything.

After a moment, Nick went on. "You think that's bad? Wait 'til you see this." He scrolled down and selected another video. This one showed a ram talking with his face blurred out and voice digitally altered. It was obviously Doug, and Dawn had to wonder why he was going to this trouble if he was clearly making public appearances anyway.

Then again, Doug had never exactly been the brains of the operation until recently. It looked like he was still getting the hang of it.

In the video, the 'mysterious' ram began to speak. "Who am I?" he asked. "Don't worry about that. All you need to know is that I represent the future. I represent a world without predators. Their kind have been lulling us into a false sense of security for centuries, waiting 'til we least expect it to strike. I say _not anymore_."

Nick scoffed. "This guy has been watching too many movies." But Judy and Dawn remained silent. They both knew that Doug's lack of experience didn't make the situation any less serious.

"My team and I are going to be making an appearance on Mangrove Avenue today," he continued. "And if any cops think about showing up, They should know that they're vastly outnumbered. Any attempt to 'control' us will be met with violence. Any prey mammal who resists us will hopefully be snapped out of their delusions fairly quickly. And any predator who resists us, well… let's just say you're time is coming."

He raised his arm to reveal he was holding an all-too familiar tranquilizer gun that all three mammals instantly recognized.

"No, your eyes are not deceiving you. This is the infamous Night Howler serum. You know, two years ago, this serum made a lot of headlines. People think it infects the minds of mammals and forces them to act in unnatural way. But that's all false information. First of all, this drug only works on predators, and all it really does is let loose the urges that all predators feel on a daily basis. They just do a good job of hiding it."

Nick, in an attempt to lighten the mood, let out a slight chuckle. "Yeah, all it takes is a simple Zoogle search to prove that theory wrong," he said.

Dawn looked up. "Some mammals will believe anything," she said slowly.

Back when the Night Howler operation was in full swing, Dawn had naturally done all the research she could on the plant. But she had never actually seen the serum being used on a prey mammal. Perhaps her denial had been in full force, and she was so desperate to believe that the predators were the ones in the wrong, not her, that she was willing to ignore basic facts. If anything went against the narrative she had built up in her head, she would automatically label it as untrue.

The bottom line was, everything Doug was saying about the Night Howler serum was something she had once believed herself.

"And I know what a lot of you are thinking," Doug went on. "What about Dawn Bellwether? Where is she? I've heard some reports that she's back in prison, but most mammals seem to believe she's dead."

After the second escape, Dawn had only been out of prison for a few hours. And given that the police had so many problems to worry about, the fact that Dawn was back behind bars was not exactly well-reported. As such, many mammals who weren't involved with the police were convinced that Bellwether was either dead or hiding out somewhere, villainously planning her next move.

Doug continued. "To be honest, even if the police found her, I find it hard to believe that she's still alive. She receives so much unnecessary hate. And I can tell you this for an absolute fact... she willingly gave herself up for the greater good. Because she's the kind of mammal that would rather die than give up on us or our cause."

A shiver ran up the ewe's spine.

"That's why we're here, fighting for our rights and refusing to surrender. Because that's what _she_ would want us all to do."

Suddenly, Dawn shouted "Turn it off!"

Nick obliged, turning off the clip. He put the phone back in his pocket and he and his partner stood there in silence.

Dawn was visibly shaken by everything she had just seen. She sat back down in her bed and tried to take some deep breaths. She was still trying to keep some composure in front of Judy and Nick. If the two officers hadn't been there, she would have gladly curled up into the fetal position and cried her eyes out.

Nick turned to face his partner. "We have to get out there," he said. "Mr. Ramses isn't being exactly shy about his location, and Bogo's already got every cop in the city on his tail."

Judy nodded and then looked at Dawn. "I'll try to visit you again tonight, okay? But right now…"

"This is my fault," Dawn interrupted, trying not to cry,

Judy tried to calm the ewe down. "Don't worry about it. That's all in the past…"

"I _caused_ this!" She shouted, angry at herself.

"You're not on that side anymore," Judy reasoned.

But Dawn furiously shook her head. "This _is_ my side, don't you get it? This is the side I _created_! This is what I wanted!" She began to hyperventilate. "I wanted predators to suffer! I wanted to lead a revolution! And then it just got bigger and bigger and now it's completely out of my control."

Nick attempted to chime in. "Hey, don't worry about this guy. We managed to stop _you_ , and this guy isn't nearly as smart. We'll be fine."

Dawn wanted to believe that everything would be all right. But deep down, she felt in her soul that this rioting wouldn't stop. It was as if karma was punishing her in the cruelest way imaginable, by giving her exactly what she had once wanted.

Even now, even when she was literally in a jail cell, innocent mammals were suffering _because of her_.

Dawn took a deep breath. "Doug's team is enormous. I've seen it. Those prey supremacists, they're not going down without a fight, and they're definitely not going to listen to the law." She paused. Then she looked up at the two officers. "But maybe they'll listen to me."

Judy and Nick exchanged nervous glances amongst each other.

Nick was the first to speak. "That could actually work."

But Judy refused to consider it. "It would be dangerous," she said. "Maybe once we have more of a handle on this situation, we can think about-"

"No," Dawn said, firmly. "This has to stop _now_! I can't let this go on. I can't just sit back and let innocent mammals get hurt because of something _I_ started!"

"There will be protestors lined up for miles!" Judy argued. "What if we can't protect you?"

"I don't care," Dawn said.

"They could kill you!"

" _Perfect!_ " Dawn suddenly shouted. "Then everybody gets a happy ending!"

There was silence for a long time. Dawn knew perfectly well what she had just said, and she had no intention of taking it back.

Dawn looked directly into Judy's eyes. "All this pain, all this fear… it started because of me. It's one thing to accept that you've caused misery, but this is misery I'm _continuing_ to cause. And I can't live with myself unless I do everything in my ability to put an end to this." She paused, then looked up at the two officers. "...Please," she begged.

More silence. Judy and Nick exchanged meaningful glances. They had known one another for so long they could practically read each others faces, which was helpful when they couldn't afford to state their thoughts aloud.

Finally, Judy sighed. "All right, we'll let you go. We'll find Doug, or one of the other prey supremacists, we'll get you to speak with him, whatever we need to do. But after we're done..."

"Back in this cell, I know," Dawn said simply. "That's fine. It's what I deserve."

So, while the two officers reached for their emergency police manual, wanting to be absolutely sure that what they were about to do was legal, Dawn sat on the bed, lost in thought.

Truthfully, didn't know what would happen when she saw her former colleague. She didn't trust him anymore. She wasn't entirely sure how she would go about stopping this revolution. But if she couldn't do it, who could?

She knew that it was risky. She knew there was a very real possibility that she could get hurt. But she no longer cared about that anymore.

She had spent her whole life afraid of getting hurt.

Maybe now, it was finally time to stop running.


	23. Sacrifices

Chapter Twenty-Three: Sacrifices

Author's Note: I am so sorry that this chapter took so long. To be honest, it barely came out _today_. What can I say, I suck at writing tense action scenes. Also, once you've been writing the same story for a long time, you eventually get to a point where you start to get sick of that story. _A New Dawn_ made it almost six months, but I got to that point eventually.

Luckily, I have only a few more chapters to go. I am determined to finish this story and see it through to the very end. Unfortunately, that means I don't know how long the intervals will be between the last couple of chapters. I'll still try to make my weekly goal, but it'll be tight.

And then, after this story is done, I will finally write the ending of _Z-Harmony_. (I swear!) Then I'll do some proofreading with both stories and fix all the grammatical errors I keep missing, and then when I'm done with all that, I can finally move on to a much more elaborate writing project that I've bee putting off. If anything, I've been using _A New Dawn_ to prepare for that.

Fair warning: this is the longest chapter in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Zootopia_.

…

For the first time in her life, Dawn Bellwether had _no_ plan.

During the past 24 hours, everything in her life had turned completely upside down. She knew she couldn't live with herself. Not with the choices she had made, and not when innocent mammals were continuing to suffer because of something she had started.

She knew that she had to put an end to this, but she had absolutely no idea how to go about doing this.

As she sat in the back of the police vehicle, still wearing her orange jumpsuit, her mind raced through a myriad of emotions. She would feel confident one moment and panicking in the next.

Finally, Dawn looked over at Judy, who was in the driver's seat. "How much further?"

"Just a few more minutes," Judy said, trying to hide her own nervousness. "We're getting closer. I'm trying to follow the carnage. There should already be a lot of officers on the scene, but it will be dangerous."

Nick looked out the window and saw a number of protestors, lined up for blocks. While he admired their dedication to the cause, he was also incredibly worried about collateral damage. "Your associate isn't messing around," he said.

Dawn tried to avoid eye contact with both of the officers. "I should have been able to tell how unstable Doug was," she muttered to herself. "I guess there are a lot of things that in hindsight, I should have seen coming."

Nic sighed. Part of him wanted to try and make her feel better, but she was right in that everything that happened was her fault.

Judy, for her part, tried to be as supportive as possible. "There's no point in harping on the past now," she said. She was going to say more but her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of an ambulance. One thing was for sure, somebody was either hurt or going to get hurt.

Judy turned to face Dawn again, with more urgency this time. "For the record, I don't think Bogo is technically aware that we're taking you out of prison temporarily. I've triple checked the rulebook and I'm 97% sure that what we're doing is legal. But still, whatever you're going to do, do it fast and then get out of there."

Dawn nodded, trying to ease the enormous amount of stress that she felt. Nick turned to his partner and asked, "Wait, does anybody else know what we're doing?"

Judy shrugged. "The only one I've texted is Gideon, and that's only because he told me to keep him updated."

Nick resisted the urge to make a snarky comment. As strange as it seemed, Gideon did seem to be the go-to mammal when it came to Bellwether's developments. After a moment, he asked, "You think maybe he should be with us?"

Judy shook her head. "It's way too dangerous," she said. "I told him to stay where he was. I haven't heard back from him yet."

Dawn wasn't listening to the conversation. She looked away from the window, trying to calm her inner nerves. Nick, meanwhile, was getting the full view of everything that was going on outside the window, and it didn't look pretty. He sighed. "Doug seemed to imply that he was gonna use the Night Howlers to start injecting predators again," he said. "If that happens..."

Dawn spoke up. "They'll have savage monsters on their side," She paused, then put on a sarcastic smile. "So unless you happen to have a cartful of blueberries on you, I'd say we're totally screwed."

"No." Nick replied. "And also, that is a really weird thing to say out of context."

Judy unconsciously started to laugh, but Dawn kept a mostly straight face. Now that she had time to reflect on everything that went down two years ago, she had to hand it to Judy and Nick for their quick thinking in the museum. She only hoped that maybe now that she was on their side, things would be a little easier.

She was no longer thinking about what would happen to her, because it didn't matter. Whatever came next, she would get what she deserved. All she was focused on was making sure that no one else was going to get hurt because of her.

But she couldn't escape the feeling, deep in her gut, that the pain and suffering that she caused would never truly be over.

…

By the time the three mammals arrived at Mangrove Avenue, it was pure and utter chaos. A few other cops had arrived at the scene, but most of the backup had yet to arrive. So for the time being, the officers were vastly outnumbered.

A large section of the street had been blocked off by Doug's team, and a podium had been set up in the middle. A lot of the area was sealed from view by large tarps. There was quite the crowd and about half a dozen cameras. Doug clearly wanted to make this as big an event as possible.

The few officers who were currently there were trying to fight the prey supremacists, But Doug had made sure to give all his team loaded weapons. For the moment, no shots were fired and no one was injured. But it was only a matter of time before this escalated into a full on civil war.

Judy made the decision to take the car and approach from behind, trying to be as discreet as possible. Dawn got out of the car and snuck into the back, trying to find her former associate.

As it turned out, she didn't have to look very far.

She barely got a good look at Doug as he stepped out onto the podium like a rock star, which is likely what he envisioned himself as. Dawn ducked behind a large piece of tarp, not wanting to be seen by the crowd.

Doug put on a big smile and yelled, "Ladies and gentlemammals, welcome to the future!" He was met with a mixture of boos and screams, but those quickly faded when Doug's henchmammals stepped up beside him. They were all prey mammals of the larger variety, and they were all carrying large machine guns.

"Easy, easy. Put those down," Doug told his crew. "After all, we're not the bad guys here."

Dawn stood back, wanting to step forward and stop him but too afraid. The fact that Doug was promoting the exact change that she had once wanted just made her feel even more uncertain.

"Of course, we all remember the great Night Howler conspiracy two years ago, and a lot f mammals are still under the delusion that we did the wrong thing. But what you have to take into account is that it's all a matter of perspective. This serum. I like to think of it as… it cures the predators. It makes them no longer have to pretend. No longer have to act like all the rest of us." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tranquilizer gun, with several blue pellets stored neatly inside. "In a way, this serum allows predators to be truly free.

He smiled at the crowd, admiring the very mixed reactions. And Dawn, who was looking out from her little hiding place, noticed that some of the audience members almost seemed willing to consider Doug's ridiculous notion.

"So, it's a win-win situation," Doug went on. "They are freed from us, and we are freed from them. And as for Dawn Bellwether…" He paused, trying to think of the right thing to say. "Well, if our she were here today, I'm sure that she would look upon this glorious sight and cry."

Dawn couldn't take it any more. "Well, you got one thing right."

Every mammal in the area instantly turned to the sound of the voice. Dawn felt an immediate rush of attention towards her. To say that she was nervous would be a vast understatement. This was more than just simple stage fright, this was exposing your deepest self to the entire world, a world that already hates you with every fiber of its being.

But there was no going back now. She took a few steps forward and tried her hardest to look confident.

The crowd was going crazy. Some of them were gasping in shock. Some were cheering, some were booing, and some were too stunned to even speak.

Doug had the latter reaction. He was quite bewildered to see his former boss alive, and not behind prison bars. But he seemed to pull himself together as he cried out, "Ladies and gentlemen, Dawn Bellwether! Let's hear what our fearless leader has to say."

Dawn tried her hardest to ignore the crowd and focus solely on Doug. "Really?" she asked. "I thought this rebellion doesn't need me anymore. At least, that's what you said when you left me for dead."

There was some slight murmuring from an unsure crowd. After a few seconds, Doug let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, let bygones be bygones, amirite?"

Dawn didn't smile. If she had any chance of getting Doug to listen to her, she had to be in control. "Right, _bygones_ ," She said sarcastically. "Let's just cut to the chase. You are not going to fire that weapon."

After a few moments, Doug smiled, "Of course not. Obviously, I'll let you do the honors."

He tossed the gun to Dawn, and she instinctively caught it. "Wait, what are you…" she started to say.

And that's when she heard a loud sound that made her cover her ears. Two rhinos and two elephants were dragging in an enormous cage, with a lumped figure in the center. In the dim light, Dawn was barely able to make out the telltale stripes of a tiger.

At first, Dawn thought that the tiger inside might have already been turned savage, but as the cage came closer, it became clear that this tiger had been drugged and was just now waking up. He looked around at the prey supremacists as he slowly realized the trouble he was in.

"No!" He begged. "Please, no! Don't do this! I got a wife and two kids!"

"Oh, don't worry," Doug said stoically. "They'll be joining you soon enough."

The tiger then looked I Dawn's direction, and when he saw the face of the infamous ewe, the horrible realization sunk in on his face. "Oh God. Not you. Please, I…"

Doug banged on the cage loudly in an attempt to shut him up. "Now as I was saying," he said sternly. "the media has been grossly exaggerating he effects of the midin campa… I mean, the midnu cappi…" he hesitated before finally blurting out, "the Night Howler serum. It doesn't make all mammals turn savage, just predators. And it doesn't do the effect on its own, it combines with the already savage instincts in the predators' biology and removes all inhibitions.

He then gestured to Dawn , who was holding the weapon. "And now, our leader will demonstrate how exactly that happens."

Dawn looked at the tiger, who closed his eyes, solemnly. "Just get it over with," he said, accepting his fate.

For Dawn, it almost felt like everything around her froze in place. She took a deep breath, taking in the situation that she now found herself in.

Once upon a time, this had been what she wanted. This predator was deathly afraid of _her_. And this wasn't just any predator, it was a tiger, the exact species that had hurt her so badly all those years ago. And now, this tiger was helpless. For once, a predator was entirely at her mercy.

For a moment, Dawn found herself legitimately tempted to pull the trigger.

And then that moment ended.

Deep down in her soul, she knew that this tiger was an innocent mammal. And she couldn't subject him or his family to any more misery.

She looked down at the tranquilizer dart in her hand, and then made her decision.

She let the weapon go. It fell down to the floor, and then she used her hoof to crush it until she heard it short-circuiting, at which point she kicked it away.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Everyone within earshot – Doug, the tiger, the prey supremacists, and the audience - they all became completely silent.

And then Dawn looked up at the henchmammals that were carrying the cage and spoke with all the conviction she could muster. "Let him go."

After another brief silence, Doug was the first one to speak, and he wasn't having any of this. "What the hell? What did you say?"

"Your hearing isn't _that_ bad, Doug." Dawn said flatly. "You know what I said."

Doug began glancing around the stage, as if he were searching for a hidden camera. "Seriously, is this a joke?" he asked. "What are you playing at?"

"You take orders from me." Dawn said, trying to come across as more confident than she felt. "Now, I'm only going to say this one more time. Let. Him. Go."

But Doug just shook his head in confusion. "I only take orders from you when they make sense."

"You mean when they fit your agenda?" Dawn spat back.

The audience reacted audibly. They weren't entirely sure how to feel about the ewe's sudden and drastic change in behavior, but if it stopped Doug's plan, that was definitely a good thing.

Doug seemed to catch on to the conflicting emotions coming from the crowd. "What exactly do you think you're doing here?" he asked. "Is this like… a sympathy plea or something?"

Dawn took a deep breath. "No," she said, trying to stay as stoic as possible. "This isn't a sympathy plea," she continued. She tried not to look at the audience, even though she knew her next words were partially meant for them. "Because what would I say? That a long time ago, I was hurt? That I wanted to take my anger out on a world that never did anything to me? That I…"

She caught herself starting to hyperventilate and stopped talking. She took a few more deep breaths, and then looked up at the crowd. For a moment, she was unsure of what to say, and then it struck her.

"In the words of a wise mammal… I was a major jerk." She hesitated, then added, "And I'm sorry."

She paused, taking in the various reactions of the crowd. She tried to forget about all the eyes that were watching her, and all the cameras that were no doubt recording her every word. "And I know I can't expect anyone to forgive me, because what I did is unforgivable."

She had more to say, but Doug chose that moment to interrupt her. "Then why are you here?"

"I…" Dawn stammered a bit but she pulled herself together and looked Doug right in the eyes. "I'm here to end this. To make sure nobody else has to suffer because of my ignorance."

There was silence. Then, after a few seconds, Doug started laughing in a way that sounded chillingly familiar. "You're telling me that you're here to stop my plan?"

"No, I'm here to stop _my_ plan." Dawn said, firmly. "Last I checked you were just an errand boy. I never gave you permission to have this much power, and if you-"

But Doug didn't let her finish. "Oh, an errand boy…" he said, coldly. "Is that all I am to you? Are you forgetting why you teamed up with us in the first place? Are you forgetting why you need me?"

"No, Doug," Dawn had to restrain herself from literally spitting in his face. "Please enlighten me. Why exactly do _I_ need _you_?

He peered down, looking at her with a snarl. And then he started walking closer to her, with conviction. "Because on your own, you are NOTHING!"

And with that, he shoved her. She fell to the ground, her side aching in pain.

Doug stood over her, menacingly. "On your own, you have no muscle." He went on. "You're just a lonely sheep with big ideas and a height complex."

The audience clearly had no idea how to react to all of this. There were several gasps with shock, a number of boos and even a few cheers from a few audience members who still viewed Dawn as a villain.

I looked up to you, Bellwether!" Doug continued. "Figuratively speaking, of course. I thought you cared about this cause. But then you just up and decide to switch sides? What the hell?!"

Dawn tried to pull herself up, but her body hurt too much. So instead, she looked back up at Doug with a glare and shouted, "You betrayed me first!"

But Doug wasn't deterred. "You betrayed the _cause_! The cause you risked everything for. A cause I believed in!"

For a fraction of a second, it almost looked like there was emotion in the ram's eyes. But it only lasted a moment, and after that there was nothing but anger in those eyes.

"But now I understand also why this plan backfired so miserably when you were at the helm. No matter which side you're on, you're pathetic!"

"No, I'm not-" Dawn started to stand up, but Doug came closer to her and physically held her down.

"You think you're better than me, huh?" he asked. "You had a following before, but now that you've made the big switch, you've lost the only allies you had."

"I…" Dawn tried to defend herself but she couldn't. She felt completely helpless. A single tear started to fall from her cheek.

"Oh my God, are you actually crying?" Doug seemed mostly amused, but also a little disappointed. He stood over her, victorious.

"You are nothing, Dawn Bellwether," he said, with a snarl. "And guess what? If I were to put a bullet through your precious little brain right now, not a single mammal in this entire goddamned city would care."

"…I would!"

The crowd slowly parted to make room for the speaker. Every eye and every camera was on the strange red fox who for some reason wanted to save Dawn Bellwether.

"No…" Dawn said softly, at a loss to say anything more.

Doug squinted his eyes at the fox. "I'm sorry, who is this?"

"Don't hurt her," Gideon said, with as much confidence as he could manage. Judy had warned him not to come, but she also mentioned something about Dawn potentially putting herself in danger, and he couldn't allow that to happen. He just couldn't.

"Gideon, get out of here right now!" Dawn called out to him.

Doug looked back at her with a stunned look on his face. "You know this pred?"

Dawn didn't say anything, but Doug's eyes widened as he slowly put the pieces together. "Wait… is this the pred you were talking about yesterday? The one who acts nice and tries to…" As the realization came, he began to laugh again. But this laugh was different. It was more like a hearty guffaw. "Oh my God, it looks like he finally wore you out!"

No one said anything. Dawn tried to signal Gideon to get out of there, but he was determined to stay.

"A fox, for God's sakes!" Doug continued. "Foxes lie about literally everything! It's like the first thing they teach you in school! Really, you should be smarter than this!"

"Please, just…" Dawn managed to pull herself together enough to speak. "Just don't hurt him."

Doug looked back and forth between Dawn and Gideon with disbelief. "What the hell did this pred do to you?" he asked, incredulously. "I thought you were the kind of mammal who stood by her beliefs. I had respect for you. What a joke that turned out to be." And with that, he looked at one of the elephants that had brought in the cage and said, "Grab that fox."

"No!" Dawn yelled. But it was too late. Gideon tried to run but the elephant was faster. He grabbed hold of the foxes' left arm and brought him up to the podium, where Doug and Dawn were. Gideon tried to wiggle free but it was no use.

"Just let him go," Dawn begged. "Please."

But Doug simply chuckled to himself. "Why the hell would you want me to let him go? He's a pred. I never thought I would have to explain this to you. Predators are are savage beasts."

"And you're much better?"

Those words really struck a nerve with Doug. After a moment, he took a few steps closer to Gideon and eyed the fox up and down, as if he were examining a painting. Gideon was terrified. He didn't regret his decision to come after Dawn, but now he was genuinely frightened for his life.

"It's an act." Doug eventually said, turning back to face Dawn. "A pretty convincing one, I'll admit. But you're nuts if you think this fox actually gives a crap about you." He paused, looking back and forth between Dawn and Gideon, and slowly, a smile began to creep up his face. "You know what I think? I think you need a little reminder of what predators are, once you strip the façade away."

And with those words, he raised his tranquilizer gun high and aimed it at the space in between Gideon's frightened eyes.

And suddenly, for Dawn, it was as if time was standing still. Everything seemed to freeze and all she could think about was what would happen if that pellet touched Gideon.

Dawn had accepted at this point that the Night Howler serum did indeed affect all mammals, regardless of species, with uncontrollable urges, and made them lose all inhibition or control. She knew that mammals affected with the serum had no control over their own actions, and that victims of the serum were not technically to blame for any damage they might have caused while under its influence.

But… if Doug pulled that trigger, then Gideon would become savage.

Gideon, the kindest, gentlest, most soulful mammal that she had ever met. Within seconds he would turn into a savage beast. He would bear his claws.

She couldn't watch that. Even if she knew it wasn't real. Even if he was cured right away. Even if she knew that Gideon had absolutely no control over his actions.

Seeing that play out before her eyes would simply be too much.

Doug was relishing in every moment. He took a few steps back, wanting to show off how good his aim could be. Eventually, he reached a point where he was standing at one end of the street, while Gideon was being held on the other end. Dawn was somewhere in the middle, helpless to do anything but watch.

Doug raised the weapon yet again, and was seconds away from pulling the trigger.

"No… No… NO!"

Suddenly, Dawn forgot about her injuries and stood up. In a flash, she was running towards Doug. She wasn't thinking rationally anymore, she just knew she had to protect Gideon by any means necessary. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to keep running for very long, as she suddenly felt a great pain in her leg.

She fell to the ground once again. Doug was staring at her, confused. Dawn turned back to look at Gideon, who didn't seem to be transforming, Dawn breathed a sigh of relief. The pellet must have missed.

All eyes were on Dawn. They were all stunned and awestruck, Doug most of all. "Oh, God…." Doug began to stutter. "That wasn't…. I didn't mean…" Before he could say another word, he bolted and ran off in the other direction.

Dawn felt… weird. For a reason she couldn't quite place. She should have felt happy, excited, relieved… but instead, she felt woozy. It felt like she had just downed an entire barrel of alcohol. And she felt angry. For some reason, she felt really angry, like she wanted to rip something apart for no reason.

And then she saw it. When she looked down at her leg, on the exact spot where she had just felt a sharp pain, there was a slight tinge of blue on the outer edge of her wool.

Doug hadn't missed after all. The pellet had simply found another target.

Dawn only had a few seconds to think. She could feel herself losing control. She could feel herself becoming angrier. She looked back at Gideon, who was just as shocked as everyone else was.

"Run," she managed to say.

But Gideon was too stunned to even move.

The crowd was audibly reacting, either amazed by what she had just done or terrified for what was about to happen next.

"Gideon, RU-"

Then everything went black.


	24. A New Dawn

Chapter Twenty Four: A New Dawn

Author's Note: We're almost at the end! I'm so excited, and in a weird way, it's bittersweet to be leaving this story behind. This fanfic represents a chapter in my life that has lasted over six months, and I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to miss it.

Miraculously, it looks like I was able to publish this chapter on time. Which is pretty crazy, considering how I was really busy this week.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Zootopia_.

…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Out of the darkness, Dawn slowly became aware of a faint beeping sound in the distance.

She couldn't see anything, and her entire body felt numb. Her only connection to reality was the odd beeping sound. At least she was finally free from the awful nightmares.

But with each passing beep, Dawn realized that she recognized the sound; it was the sound of a heart-rate monitor. And it sounded close.

Slowly, Dawn opened her eyes. It took a while for her brain to register where she was. Everything was super bright, and her memory was hazy. All she could remember was a lot of loud noise, a lot of pain, and…

Gideon.

She had sacrificed herself for him. She had been shot by a midnicampum holicithias pellet.

She had gone savage.

Looking around her, she realized that she was in a hospital bed. She had an IV needle in her arm, and when she looked to her right, she could see a vase full of daffodils, with a note attached. She tried to lean in closer to read the note but her body was too tired.

She took several deep breaths, trying not to overexert herself. There were curtains around her bed, so she couldn't see if there were any other patients in the room. Which was probably for the best, given her reputation.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the curtains were opened by a doctor. Dawn recognized her; she was a honey badger, and Dawn vaguely recognized her being involved in the Night Howler case two years ago.

The doctor smiled. "Miss Bellwether, you're awake."

Dawn tried to speak, but her voice was scratchy. She coughed multiple times, clutching her throat.

The doctor took a few steps closer. "Here, have some water." She handed Dawn a paper cup. The ewe slowly took a sip, all the while questioning why this doctor was being so kind to her.

Dawn kept thinking that she should apologize to the doctor for what she had done, followed by the realization that she could very well spend the rest of her life apologizing, and it would never be enough.

When Dawn could finally speak, she asked the doctor, "How long was I out?"

"I'd say about a week and a half," the doctor said, shrugging. "Normally, it doesn't take that long to extract the serum, but your immune system is not terribly strong. For a while, we thought we might lose you."

There was silence. After a few moments, Dawn decided to ask something that had been troubling her from the moment she had woken up.

"…Did I hurt anybody?"

The doctor shook her head. "No. The police were able to keep you under control for long enough to sedate you. No one was hurt."

Dawn gave a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank God."

The doctor went on. "Evidently, a small sheep was considerably easier to control than a fox would have been. Or a tiger for that matter."

"And what about Doug and his crew?" Dawn asked. "Are they still out there?"

Once again, the nurse shook her head. "Mr. Ramses is in jail. All of that drama ended rather quickly."

Dawn was relieved but also a little confused. "…What happened?"

"For one, you proved that the serum doesn't work exclusively on predators, which messed up the storyline that Mr. Ramses was trying to promote. And as for those prey supremacists, once they found out that their fearless leader had switched sides, a lot of them just gave up. The whole thing was wrapped up in a matter of days."

Dawn took all of this in, hardly daring to believe it. "Well, I'm happy to hear that," she finally said.

The doctor had an unreadable expression on her face. "I'll tell the other doctors that you're awake, and you seem to be stabilizing quite well. No doubt you'll have guests soon enough."

She turned around to leave. "Wait," Dawn said, calling out. "Doctor, I…. I really am sorry. For everything."

The doctor seemed emotionally torn. But she pulled herself together and tried to remain professional. She said, "Understood," and then left.

A few more minutes passed. Gradually, Dawn started to feel less tired, though parts of her body still ached. Looking back to her right, she saw the vase of daffodils. Leaning closer, she was able to get a closer look at the note. A message was written in rather sloppy handwriting.

 _"I wanted to bring you something from my shop but the doctors said it would go bad by the time you woke up. I hope you like these. Please wake up soon. - G.G."_

Dawn felt a tear run down her face. In hindsight, the whole situation was ridiculous. She was a grown ewe with serious mental problems, she shouldn't have felt like a lovestruck teenager. Even so, it warmed her heart to be reminded of Gideon's continuous, albeit irrational, support of her.

More time passed. Dawn couldn't tell exactly how long it was, but she was pleasantly surprised when the curtains opened again, and two familiar mammals walked through the door.

Life could be weird sometimes. Once upon a time, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde had been her lifelong enemies. Now, it seemed like they were potential friends.

Judy spoke first. "We came as soon as we could. How are you feeling?"

"Um…" Dawn tried to think of an appropriate response. " Good. I'm good, all things considered." She paused, the nervously glanced back at the vase of daffodils. "Where's Gideon?"

"He's on his way." Judy replied. "After you… uh, became hospitalized, he stayed in the city for a couple days. He didn't want to go back to Bunnyburrow, but his shop needed to be looked after. Plus his mother was worried. He's been texting me at least once a day asking for updates on you."

"Wow..." Dawn thought about what she had heard, as a small smile crept up onto her face. "I guess a lot of stuff happened while I was out."

Judy nodded. Nick spoke up. "That's putting it mildly. You know, some of the doctors were worried that you wouldn't make it.

Dawn wasn't sure if she had heard that correctly. "Some of the doctors were worried about _me_?"

"Well," Nick replied. "Maybe not _all_ of the doctors, to be sure, but…"

At that moment, Judy gave her partner one of her signature 'playful' punches to shut him up.

Dawn decided to change the subject. "So… I take it you two saved the city once again?"

Judy shrugged. "Well, we certainly helped, and we had a lot of backup from the other cops. But personally, I think you're the one who saved the city this time."

Dawn wasn't sure what to say. After a few seconds passed, Nick was the one who spoke. "Yep. So that means you and the city are even at this point."

"Nick…" Judy sighed.

"Admit it," Nick said, staring at his partner with flirty eyes. "You love me for my sense of humor."

"Oh, is _that_ the reason?" Dawn asked, sarcastically. "I was wondering."

Judy chuckled while Nick looked mildly offended. "Same old snark as always," he muttered.

Dawn just shrugged. "I guess it's hard to change overnight."

"Well, you've already come a long way," Judy said earnestly.

Dawn felt herself blushing a bit. But after a moment, the reality of her situation began to sink in. "So… what happens now?"

Judy and Nick exchanged apprehensive glances. Eventually, Judy cleared her throat. "Well, you're not gonna like this part, but… as soon as your body heals they'll probably take you back to prison."

Dawn slowly nodded. "That's fair enough."

"But listen," Judy said, insistent. "I honestly think we can make a case to get you parole."

"What?" Dawn asked, confused. "But… when I was first arrested, it was for a life sentence. And given all the escape attempts…"

"I know," Judy said. "I know it seems unlikely, but the public opinion of you has shifted after the video of you sacrificing yourself went viral. I think if we can get you a therapist, a real therapist, to psycho-analyze you... I mean, Nick and I have been looking at some of the loopholes in the system, and we think it's certainly possible."

"If there's one thing I know about, it's loopholes," Nick added.

Dawn was silent. "I… I don't deserve parole."

"I think everyone deserves a second chance," Judy said, in a comforting tone.

Dawn smiled, then she caught herself yawning.

"The doctor said you should try to get some rest," Judy said, moving closer. "You'll be out of the hosptal soon.

Truth be told, Dawn was feeling a little tired. "At least this bed is comfortable," she muttered to herself.

Judy smiled. "All right. Nick and I have to get back to work. We'll see you in a couple days, around the time you get transferred."

With that, Judy gave Dawn a friendly wave and walked back out through the curtain. Nick started to follow, but he stopped mid-stride to look back at the ewe.

"I uh… I…" He was stammering, which was unusual behavior for him. "This is really awkward, but I just wanted to say… I'm sorry."

Dawn blinked. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"No, it's just…" He held the back of his head, nervously. "Well, I may have been a bit harsh before. I didn't think you had the capacity to be a good mammal."

"And now, what do you think?" Dawn asked. She realized that Nick was having an incredibly awkward experience, and she decided that she wanted to prolong the experience It seemed like old habits really did die hard.

Nick, for his part, tried to brush it off. "I've learned that it's best not to argue with her," He sighed. "She sees good in you just like she saw good on me."

"Well, the jury's still out on the first one, so..."

Nick gave a soft smile at the ewe's quip. It was an awkward situation, but both mammals felt like this was probably as close to friendship as they were gonna get.

…

After the two officers left, Dawn ended up taking a nap that lasted several hours. When she woke up, she was surprised by how clear her mind felt. She didn't know exactly the Night Howler antidote worked, but if something in that formula had made her less crazy, then that was definitely a plus.

While parts of her body still ached, she was definitely feeling stronger now. For one thing, it looked like one of the doctors had removed the IV needle from her arm while she had been sleeping. She was able to sit up in bed and look around the area. But she realized that there wasn't much to see or do here.

She didn't know how much longer she would continue to be hospitalized. She did not look forward to going back to prison, and she had no idea whether or not Judy's plan to get her parole was practical.

But as Dawn was thinking about all this, she heard an all-too familiar voice coming from the other side of the curtain,

"Where is she?! How is she?! Is she okay-"

"Mr. Grey, calm down," said one of the doctors. "She's doing fine. All of her vitals are normal."

"Can I see her?" Gideon asked, barely even stopping to take a breath. "Please, I have to…"

"Take a deep breath. We're going to need you to sign this document."

After that, things went quiet for a moment, and Dawn felt her heart beating faster. She was used to Gideon being calm, and hearing the genuine fear in his voice was a little surprising. Did he really care about her _that_ much?

Suddenly, Gideon opened the curtain, and when his eyes landed on Dawn, he breathed a hearty sigh of relief.

"You're okay. Thank God. I... I came as soon as I could." He was so nervous he was tripping over his words.

"Gideon, I…" Dawn realized that she wasn't doing much better in the words department. "You look nice."

Gideon looked down at the maroon sweater he had on. "Oh, this, I just threw this on when I left the house."

Dawn tried to ease his comforts by shifting some of the awkwardness over to her. "At least you're not stuck in an orange jumpsuit."

"Yeah, I could see how that would be a problem…" He paused, unsure of where to take the conversation next, before deciding to change the subject. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes," Dawn said. "I feel great. Better than I've felt in a very long time."

"Good. Good to hear," Gideon nodded, then he paused again, looking hesitant. "So… what's gonna happen now?"

"Judy said they were gonna wait until I was completely healed, and then I would be transferred back into the prison."

Even though Dawn had accepted her fate for a while now, Gideon looked absolutely mortified. "No. No, they can't do that."

"Don't look so worried," Dawn said, trying to reassure him. "It might only be temporary. They're going to get me a therapist. An actual qualified, medical professional. No offense."

Gideon smiled and shrugged. "None taken."

Now It was Dawn's turn to smile. "I don't know too much, but from what I could gather, they're gonna put me through conversion therapy and then, if they feel I've really changed, they'll let me go on parole.

"Oh, Dawn, that's great news," Gideon said, genuinely happy for her.

"Yeah, it is." Dawn wasn't entirely sure how to feel. So many things in her life had changed recently, and sometimes it felt like she didn't even know which way was up anymore.

Gideon seemed to be able to sense the inner turmoil going on in her head. "You're a hero, Dawn." He said, assuredly. "You know that."

But Dawn shook her head. "I don't feel like a hero," she said, solemnly. "And even if I _do_ get out, I have no idea if it's possible for me to have a normal, happy life. …Or even if I deserve it."

"Of course you deserve it, Dawn," Gideon said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The world saw what you did that that day. How Doug and all those cronies were taken down."

"So the whole world saw me go savage," Dawn spat out, coming across as colder than she had intended. "That's what happened. I turned into a monster."

"Turning into a monster was the most heroic thing you've ever done."

There was silence for a few moments before Gideon rapidly backtracked. "I'm sorry, that was kind of a cheesy thing to say."

"No, it's fine," Dawn reassured him. She remembered how, at one time, she had made the observation that Gideon apologized way too much. It seemed like some things never changed.

After yet another awkward silence, Gideon took note of the vase of daffodils. "Oh no, the flowers are starting to wilt!" he exclaimed as he moved closer to the bedside table to check on them.

"It's all right," Dawn said, once again trying to reassure him. The daffodils didn't look like they were wilting from Dawn's perspective. But then again, the freshness of the flowers didn't matter nearly as much as the flowers themselves.

"Do you like daffodils?" Gideon asked. And before she could answer, he started to talk rapidly, as if he were on the verge of a minor panic attack. "I wasn't sure, The flower shop had a whole bunch of 'em, so many different colors, and I thought about maybe something purple, but then I thought it might look too much like the Night Howlers, so I went with the daffodils, cause they're yellow, and it's like the opposite. To show that you've, uh… changed." he finished weakly.

"They're beautiful," Dawn said honestly, before asking, "Is everything all right with you?"

"With me?" Gideon looked confused and seemed almost desperate to steer the conversation away from himself. "We're talking about you. I mean, why would you even ask that?

"Because you look like you're about to cry."

Gideon looked up, with genuine vulnerability in his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, uncertain of how to formulate his thoughts into words, Finally he pulled up a chair next to Dawn's bed and sat down, so the two mammals were closer to eye level with one another. He looked completely helpless.

"…I can't imagine what that might be like, going savage." There was a certain shakiness in his voice as he recalled the memory. "When Doug pointed that… that thing at me, I thought I was a goner. And then you…" He sniffed, clearly on the verge of tears. "…You took the shot for me."

There was a long pause. Gideon tried to say more, but nothing came out. Eventually, Dawn decided to speak. "It's all a blur. I can't even remember any of it." She paused, and then asked hesitantly. "What did it look like?

Gideon looked back at her, trying to deliver the facts without becoming overtly emotional. "…Your eyes just became slits, you lost all emotion. You weren't…" he seemed at a loss for words, before he finally just gave up and said, "It didn't look natural."

Hearing this, Dawn took a deep breath and asked "…Were you afraid of me?"

"Not even for a second."

There was absolutely no hesitation in Gideon's voice. All the nervousness seemed to disappear, leaving him with a sense of conviction.

"…Why not?" Dawn asked.

Gideon thought about it for a moment before saying, "Because you sacrificed yourself for me. Nobody's ever done anything like that for me. I…"

He paused again. His insecurity started to come back.

"Whenever we meet, I always try to be calm," he admitted. "I try to be like a rock. Someone that you can lean on. But sometimes… I feel like I'm just as lost. Like I'm trying to be nice because it's the right thing to do, but sometimes I feel like no matter what I do, I'm always gonna feel lonely."

He tried to pull himself together and get to the point. "I guess the idea of having somebody, somebody who could look at me and think, you know what, he deserves to be saved. He doesn't deserve to get shot." He looked down for a moment, lost in thought. "What I'm trying to say is… it meant a lot to me."

At this point, Dawn was trying to avoid becoming emotional herself. "Well, you're welcome. And for the record, you shouldn't beat yourself up too much. I mean, who knows what would have happened if it hadn't been for you? Maybe I never would have snapped out of those delusions. Maybe right now, Doug and I would be taking over the city and turning everything into chaos!" She realized she was being louder than necessary, but she felt it was important to emphasize this point. " _…You saved me, Gideon._ "

Gideon was blushing slightly. "You saved yourself. I just helped out a little."

But Dawn shrugged it off. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

She managed to sit up. The two mammals were on eye level now, and they were very close together.

"You are better than you think you are," Dawn said, earnestly.

"…Well, so are you."

He smiled, his cheeks blushing a deep shade of red. His blue eyes were so vibrant, they were practically glowing.

In that moment, Dawn was overwhelmed with emotion. She knew what she wanted, and with every second she looked into his eyes, she only wanted it more and more.

She had to do it now. She might not get another chance.

And so, before her sense of judgment could get in the way, before a lifetime of hatred and bitterness could rear its ugly head in, before her conscience could kick in and ask her if this was what she really wanted, Dawn leaned in as far she could and planted her lips directly onto his.

The feeling was almost indescribable.

Gideon hadn't been anticipating the kiss, but he didn't back away. And after a few seconds, he allowed himself to sink into it. Dawn started to wrap her arms around his body, and he did the same, reminding himself to be as gentle as possible.

It was difficult to surmise the feeling that swept through both mammals at the same time. This feeling that nothing else in the universe mattered except the simple fact that the two of them were together.

Maybe the past hadn't been so bad after all if it had led them to this moment.

This one, glorious, perfect moment.

And when the time came for the two mammals to slowly separate, there was a sense of magic in the air, as if fireworks were going off.

Gideon was the first to speak, very slowly. "…Wow."

"...Yeah." Dawn could sense that the experience was a shared one. Gideon was smiling, but there was still a subtle hint of hesitance, as if he was unsure of his own kissing ability.

In Dawn's opinion, there was no problem there.

After a few seconds, Dawn spoke again. "So… I take it you feel the same way?"

"I…" His awkward nervousness was starting to come back. But by this point, Dawn found it charming in it's own way.

"To be honest, I wasn't gonna say anything," he confessed. "I know that you're uncomfortable around predators, and I didn't want to make the first move. I was worried that it might scare you off."

Hearing those words just sealed the deal even further. "Well you don't have to worry about that," Dawn said, confidently. "I've decided that I'm not going to be afraid anymore."

Gideon smiled, genuinely proud of how far she had come, before asking, "So, does this make us… boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Dawn let the notion sink in. "…I guess it does."

' _I'm dating a predator_.' She thought to herself. A year ago, even the idea would have terrified her. But now… it just went to show how much she had changed because of him.

Just then there was a knock in the door, and one of the orderlies, a female antelope, poked her head in. "Mr. Grey, hospital visits have a restricted time limit."

"Just a little while longer, please!?" Gideon begged.

The orderly didn't know much about the fox, and she wasn't entirely sure why he cared so much about the infamous Dawn Bellwether. Then again, if that viral video was any indication, these two must have had some sort of history together.

The orderly sighed. "I'll give you five more minutes."

Gideon. But when he turned back to face Dawn, he noticed that her smile had vanished. "Gideon, do me a favor. Don't tell anyone about this. About… us. At least, not right away. I imagine the media will have a field day over it."

Gideon nodded. "Of course."

Part of him was disappointed. He wanted to yell on the rooftops that he was in love with the most beautiful ewe in the world, but then he remembered that the rest of the world didn't see what he saw.

But he had to have faith that one day, they would.

He leaned in closer to her and looked her right in the eyes. "Dawn, listen to me, when you get parole-"

"… _If_ I get parole."

There was a brief pause, then Gideon started again, with more emphasis this time. " _When_ you get parole, I promise you, I am never gonna leave your side. Ever."

He was beginning to feel tears running down his cheeks, but he didn't care about that anymore. He wanted her to know just how serious he was about this. "I've been alone for so long, and now, I am not gonna screw this up. I'm gonna be the best boyfriend I can possibly be. Whatever I have to do. If I have to move to the city, I can do that. Or if you want me to lose weight, I can do that…"

"Gideon…" Dawn hated to interrupt him, but she had to. Maybe she was just used to things going wring, but the idea of parole just seemed so far off to her. "I appreciate all that. Truly, I do. But I might not get released. And besides… you deserve someone better than me."

"I don't want anyone else," Gideon said, with as much confidence as he's ever had. "I love you, Dawn."

Dawn was tearing up. "I… I love you, too, Gideon. And I…" Now she really started to tear up. "I want to be with you. I just don't know if this is practical."

"We can make it work," He had changed to a calmer tone of voice, which is what Dawn was used to. "Just have a little faith."

But she remained unsure. She didn't look up. She wanted to believe that everything would be okay. But the idea of having a life with Gideon… it seemed like a fairytale. It was nice to think about, but it wasn't something that could ever realistically happen.

After a few moments, Gideon gently reached out his paw.

"Do you trust me?"

Dawn looked up and saw those gorgeous blue eyes looking at her. That reassuring smile. Those two perfect dimples.

She put her hoof into his paw. "Yes."

And no sooner had she said it, than Gideon's lips were on hers. She half expected to flinch but she didn't. The fact that he was a predator no longer bothered her. It seemed so insignificant compared to the tremendous feelings that she had for him.

Gideon held her in his arms, and she held him back. He knew beyond a fraction of a doubt that he loved her. Her past crimes didn't matter. They were in the past, long forgotten in his mind. He loved this ewe and he was going to take care of her. And, if need be, he would fight for her.

They both knew they didn't have a lot of time left, so they poured everything they had into the kiss, praying that it wouldn't be their last.


End file.
